From Power Magazine
SCANA Corp. and Santee Cooper have ceased construction of Units 2 and 3 at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in South Carolina.
The project owners said the decision, prompted by analysis of detailed schedule and cost data, would save customers nearly $7 billion. The project has been in limbo since key contractor Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy in March.
The decision comes just days after Westinghouse’s parent company Toshiba agreed to pay the two project owners nearly $2.2 billion to cap its liabilities from the unfinished nuclear project. Toshiba reached a similar $3.7 billion agreement with Southern Co. in June as it seeks to limit its liabilities from the Vogtle project. Both AP1000 nuclear projects are years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget.
Construction continues at the two Vogtle AP1000 units in Georgia. A project owner, Georgia Power, on July 28 told POWER that it expects to complete the cost-to-complete and schedule assessment by the end of August.
Twin Decisions
The Santee Cooper Board of Directors approved the decision on July 31 to suspend construction at the two AP1000 units. South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. (SCE&G) on July 31 also announced its decision to cease construction on the units, adding it would promptly file a petition with the Public Service Commission of South Carolina seeking to abandon the units.
For Santee Cooper, the decision was based “in large part on a comprehensive analysis of detailed schedule and cost data, from both project contractor Westinghouse Electric Co. and subcontractor Fluor Corp., first revealed after Westinghouse, filed for bankruptcy in March.”
According to SCE&G, the decision was reached after “considering the additional costs to complete the units, the uncertainty regarding the availability of production tax credits for the project, the amount of anticipated guaranty settlement payments from Toshiba Corp., and other matters associated with continuing construction.” SCE&G also noted that its decision was based on Santee Cooper’s decision to suspend construction of the project. “Based on these factors, SCE&G concluded that it would not be in the best interest of its customers and other stakeholders to continue construction of the project,” it said.
SCE&G and Santee Cooper gave Westinghouse full notice to proceed in April 2012, committing Westinghouse to substantially complete Unit 2 in 2016 and Unit 3 in 2019.
