Westinghouse, NDA Mark New Operational Arrangements For Springfields Fuel Site

PITTSBURGH, March 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Westinghouse Electric Company today confirmed that it will commence innovative new commercial arrangements with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) involving the long-term lease of the Springfields nuclear fuel manufacturing site, near Preston in Lancashire.  The new arrangements were marked at a ceremony on the site today attended by President and CEO of Westinghouse Dr. Aris S. Candris, NDA Commercial Director John Clarke and President & CEO of Toshiba Corporation Power Systems Company Yasuharu Igarashi.

The deal includes the permanent transfer of ownership to Westinghouse of Springfields Fuels Limited (SFL).  SFL, which employs around 1350 people, is the company currently operating the site under the management of Westinghouse Electric UK Holdings Limited.

The new lease, to manage and operate the site for the next 150 years, will be effective April 1, 2010 after the current site management contract with the NDA, the site owner, ends on March 31.

Speaking after the ceremony, Dr Candris said: “The new arrangements pave the way for significant investment by Westinghouse in Springfields that will maintain high quality jobs and provide security for current and new employees.”

"Longer-term, we would expect to expand production to manufacture fuel for AP1000(TM) nuclear power plants which we intend to build in the UK and elsewhere in Europe."  

For the NDA, John Clarke, Commercial Director said: "This agreement represents an excellent outcome for the UK taxpayer and along with recent land sales is another example of the NDA optimizing value from our assets."

"It concludes a successful five-year relationship with Westinghouse as the M&O contractor for Springfields and provides the right platform to exploit the site's potential for the benefit of the workforce, the local community and the UK nuclear industry. We will, of course, continue to deliver our Energy Act obligations in terms of the current nuclear liabilities in relation to the site."

Negotiations on the proposed arrangement began last year.  A direction amending the Energy Act designating directions for the Springfields site was laid before Parliament earlier this month, following conclusion of negotiations on the deal.

Westinghouse Electric Company, a group company of Toshiba Corporation, (TKY:6502) is the world's pioneering nuclear power company and is a leading supplier of nuclear plant products and technologies to utilities throughout the world. Westinghouse supplied the world's first PWR in 1957 in Shippingport, Pennsylvania. Today, Westinghouse technology is the basis for approximately half of the world's operating nuclear plants.

In the UK - Springfields, near Preston, has provided nuclear fuel fabrication services for over 60 years -- in fact it was the first plant in the world to produce fuel for a commercial power station.

The site processes several thousand tons of uranium a year and has the technology to manufacture fuel for all major designs of nuclear reactors worldwide. Most of the fuel requirements for the UK's nuclear power stations are met by Springfields and around 15% of all the electricity generated in the UK comes from power stations using nuclear fuel manufactured at Springfields.

Springfields has provided nuclear fuel, chemical and mechanical fabrication for Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (AGR), Magnox and Light Water Reactor (LWR) fuel, and conversion services for uranium hexafluoride. The site also provides intermediate products, such as uranium dioxide powder, for several overseas customers in Europe, Canada and Japan.

The Westinghouse AP1000(TM) reactor is one of two designs currently being assessed by UK regulators for potential new nuclear build in the UK. Contracts have been placed around the world for a total of ten AP1000 plants to date -- four in China and six in the US. The first plant, at Sanmen in China, is scheduled to produce electricity in 2013.

For more information on Westinghouse, visit:

http://www.Westinghousenuclear.com

For more information on Springfields, visit:

www.nuclearsites.co.uk

SOURCE Westinghouse Electric Company