BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 1, 2007--USEC Inc. (NYSE:USU) has signed a five-year contract with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for electric power for USEC's gaseous diffusion uranium enrichment plant in Paducah, Ky. TVA's board of directors approved the terms of the new power agreement at its board meeting yesterday. The new contract, which replaces a one-year pricing agreement that expires today, runs through May 31, 2012.
"We're pleased to lock in a long-term rate agreement with TVA for electric power for the Paducah plant. USEC's baseload power needs make it TVA's largest industrial customer," said John K. Welch, USEC president and chief executive officer. "The new contract helps USEC mitigate and manage the risk of rising power prices. USEC needs the certainty and predictability of a long-term power agreement as it continues to provide a reliable source of enriched uranium fuel to our nation's nuclear power plants."
The price continues to consist of a base energy price that will increase moderately on an annual basis and will be adjusted for changes in TVA's fuel costs and purchased power costs. USEC also contracted for higher power levels to meet expected demand for separative work units (SWU) and to allow USEC to be responsive to the rapidly changing uranium market.
USEC's Paducah plant provides the only U.S.-owned and U.S.-located uranium enrichment capability, making USEC important to America's energy security and energy independence. Enrichment is the process by which the concentration of the fissionable uranium isotope, U-235, is increased in order to make fuel for nuclear power plants.
USEC Inc., a global energy company, is a leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.
CONTACT: USEC Inc.
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Elizabeth Stuckle, 301-564-3399
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SOURCE: USEC Inc.