1 Aug (NucNet): The two US utilities that co-own the project to build two Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactor units at the Summer nuclear station in the state of South Carolina said on 31 July 2017 that they are suspending construction. South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G) owns 55% of the project and state-owned utility Santee Cooper owns the remaining 45%. Santee Cooper said in a statement that the decision to halt construction of Summer-3 and -4 is anticipated to save its customers nearly $7bn (€5.9bn) in additional costs to complete the project, including projected interest during construction. The statement said the decision to suspend construction is based in large part on a comprehensive analysis of detailed schedule and cost data, from both project contractor Westinghouse and subcontractor Fluor Corporation, first revealed after Westinghouse, filed for bankruptcy in March 2017. Santee Cooper said it has spent approximately $4.7bn in construction and interest to date for its 45% share of the new nuclear power project. The analysis shows the project would not be finished until 2024, four years after the most recent completion date provided by Westinghouse, and would end up costing Santee Cooper customers $11.4bn. “Generation diversity remains an important strategy for Santee Cooper, but the costs of these units are simply too much for our customers to bear,” said Santee Cooper chairman Leighton Lord. Scana Corporation, which owns SCG&E, confirmed construction would be abandoned and said SCE&G concluded that completion of both units would be prohibitively expensive. Scana said it would file a petition with the Public Service Commission of South Carolina seeking approval of its abandonment plan. Last week Toshiba Corporation, which owns Westinghouse, agreed to pay the two utilities $2.2bn for the two Westinghouse reactors under construction at Summer regardless of whether they are completed. Under the settlement, Tokyo-based Toshiba will pay $1.2bn to SCE&G and $1bn to Santee Cooper.
