Dr. Conca reports that On March 29, Westinghouse Electric Company filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in New York to restructure itself as a result of business and management problems at its AP1000 power plant projects in Georgia and South Carolina. But the real cause has nothing to do with nuclear power and everything to do with Toshiba choice of the wrong construction contractor. Westinghouse has obtained $800 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from a third-party lender to help fund and protect its core businesses during this reorganization.
Its Japanese parent company, Toshiba, declared that its nuclear power business has already lost $6 billion, which could go up to $10 billion, and is seeking ways to limit its liability. Toshiba shares have lost over $7 billion in market value this fiscal year. The major U.S. utilities that would own the plants, Scana Energy in South Carolina and a consortium in Georgia led by Georgia Power, a unit of Southern Company, are in negotiations with Westinghouse to develop a plan for completing the nuclear power plants. The cost estimates for the two nuclear projects are running $1 billion to $1.3 billion higher than originally expected, and about three years behind schedule.
Original URL: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2017/03/31/westinghouse-bankruptcy-shakes-the-nuclear-world/#10c3c28e2688
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