Toshiba has agreed to pay $2.16bn to exit two troubled nuclear reactor projects currently being built by its Westinghouse Electric Company (WEC) subsidiary at the VC Summer Nuclear Station in South Carolina, US.
Under the agreement, Toshiba will pay $1.19bn to South Carolina Electric & Gas (SCE&G), which owns a 55% share in the project.
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The company will also pay $976m to the state-owned utility Santee Cooper, which owns the remaining 45% stake. The payment is expected to be made in instalments staring from October and ending in September 2022.
According to Santee Cooper, some of these payments may be satisfied by distributions through the bankruptcy court process from WEC to SCE&G and Santee Cooper.
Santee Cooper president and CEO Lonnie Carter said: “We appreciate our customers’ patience while the analysis on cost and schedule for the project is being completed.
“Ultimately, we will make a decision that is in the best interests of our customers.”
Construction of the nuclear reactors at VC Summer Nuclear Station was thrown into disarray when its main contractor Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, reported AP.
The over-budget project is meant to be online by January 2021 but is behind schedule.
