Press Release: SCE&G Completes First Nuclear Concrete Placement

Just received the following from SCE&G:

SCE&G Completes First Nuclear Concrete Placement

CAYCE, S.C., March 11, 2013—South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G), principal subsidiary of SCANA Corporation (NYSE:SCG), completed on March 11, 2013, placement of the nuclear island basemat for V.C. Summer Unit 2 in Fairfield County, S.C. This major milestone is the first new construction nuclear concrete to be poured in the U.S. in three decades.

“This is an exciting achievement for SCE&G, Santee Cooper, CB&I, Westinghouse Electric Company, and others who support our new nuclear project,” said Kevin Marsh, chairman and CEO of SCANA. “We recognize the significance of this event and appreciate the strong commitment to safety and collaboration demonstrated by all involved in reaching this milestone.”

Lonnie Carter, president and CEO of Santee Cooper, which co-owns V.C. Summer, said, ”This is a tremendous day for South Carolina as we work with SCANA to deliver new nuclear generation that will help ensure reliable, affordable electricity for decades to come. We’ve come to this point through the diligent and conscientious attention to task by everyone involved, from our crews to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.”

The basemat provides a foundation for the containment and auxiliary buildings that are within the nuclear island. Measuring 6 feet in thickness, the basemat required approximately 7,000 cubic yards of concrete to cover an area about 250 feet long and 160 feet at its widest section. Completed about 10 a.m. today, this 51.5-hour continuous pour of concrete covered a surface totaling 32,000 square feet.

About 1,550 workers are currently involved in constructing two new reactors at V.C. Summer, where Unit 1 has operated safely and reliably for 30 years. The new nuclear project will peak at about 3,000 workers over the course of three to four years. The two 1,117-megawatt units will add 600 to 800 permanent jobs and bring SCE&G’s portfolio to 60 percent non-emitting sources when they start generating electricity in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

What great news. Congratulations to everyone at VC Summer and Westinghouse on reaching such an important milestone. More news as it develops.

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Steve Byrne of SCE&G on Controlling New Nuclear Construction Costs

Earlier this month, the Associated Press ran a story on its national wire concerning what it described as rising construction costs at America's new nuclear plants:

America's first new nuclear plants in more than a decade are costing billions more to build and sometimes taking longer to deliver than planned, problems that could chill the industry's hopes for a jumpstart to the nation's new nuclear age.

A couple of days later, I had a chance to spend a few minutes with Steve Byrne, SCE&G's President, Generation and COO, to ask him some questions about the topic. SCE&G's parent company, SCANA Corporation, is building a pair of new reactors at the VC Summer site in South Carolina (click here for the latest progress report from SCANA). I started off by asking Steve why claims that costs were spiraling out of control at VC Summer and Plant Vogtle in Georgia were incorrect:




I also had the chance to ask Steve about how "construction work in progress" provisions help utilities better manage construction costs and how the industry has taken lessons learned from the past and applied them to controlling costs. If you'd like to watch all three videos in sequence, click here.

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