BETHESDA, Md., Jan 11, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
USEC Inc. (NYSE: USU) announced today that it is working to extend the operation of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant beyond May 2012 and expects to reach a decision during the first half of 2011.
USEC will base its decision to extend operations upon economic considerations and the ability of the plant to operate profitably. Because the plant is a large consumer of electricity, power prices are a significant factor in the cost of operations and future planning for Paducah. The Company is actively negotiating with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and others for power to operate Paducah beyond mid-2012 when USEC's current power agreement with TVA expires.
To support extended operations, USEC is also examining the potential of enriching a portion of the Department of Energy's (DOE) depleted uranium stockpile. Depleted uranium is a by-product generated during enrichment. Given the current price of uranium, the federal government could generate substantial revenue by re-enriching portions of the depleted uranium at Paducah to the level of natural uranium.
Enriching the depleted uranium at Paducah would reduce DOE's costs of ultimately disposing of the depleted uranium and would create a valuable asset, natural uranium, that could help fund DOE's Environmental Management cleanup program, which includes the gaseous diffusion plants in Paducah, Ky., and Piketon, Ohio. The amount of natural uranium that would be sold annually under such a program represents less than 2.5 percent of global uranium demand and, as has been demonstrated over the past year, sales of surplus DOE uranium can be implemented without an adverse material impact on the domestic uranium industry.
"DOE has a unique opportunity while the plant is still operating that would be a win-win for everyone," said Steve Penrod, Paducah plant general manager and USEC vice president. "Re-enrichment would reduce DOE's decontamination and decommissioning costs while generating revenue for the federal government and maintaining 1,200 good, local jobs. From the American taxpayers' standpoint, it makes a lot of sense to extract the valuable uranium; and the time to act is now while Paducah's capacity is available and uranium prices are strong."
USEC recently announced that it has reached a new labor agreement with the United Steel Workers Local 550. The contract, which runs through July of 2016, will ensure a well- qualified workforce is in place to support the efficient operation of the Paducah plant.
The plant produces low enriched uranium used as fuel in commercial nuclear power plants in the United States and around the world and currently provides approximately half of USEC's annual supply of low enriched uranium.
USEC Inc., a global energy company, is a leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel to commercial nuclear power plants.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" - that is, statements related to future events. In this context, forward-looking statements may address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "will" and other words of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For USEC, particular risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: uncertainty regarding the cost of electric power used at our gaseous diffusion plant; our inability under many existing long-term contracts to directly pass on to customers increases in our costs; our ability to obtain a contract to enrich DOE's depleted uranium on satisfactory terms, in a sufficient amount, or at all; pricing trends and demand in the uranium and enrichment markets and their impact on our profitability; changes to, or termination of, our contracts with the U.S. government; changes in U.S. government priorities and the availability of government funding; risks related to the deployment of the American Centrifuge technology, including risks related to performance, cost, schedule and financing, and the impact on our prospects; our success in obtaining a loan guarantee for the American Centrifuge Plant, including our ability to reach agreement with DOE on acceptable terms of a conditional commitment, including credit subsidy cost, and our ability to meet any required conditions to funding; the impact of government regulation; the competitive environment for our products and services; changes in the nuclear energy industry; and other risks and uncertainties discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, which are available on our website at www.usec.com. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements except as required by law.
SOURCE: USEC Inc.
USEC Inc.
Media:
Paul Jacobson, 301-564-3399
or
Investors:
Steven Wingfield, 301-564-3354