Westinghouse CEO says company will emerge stronger from bankruptcy

Westinghouse Electric Co. interim President and CEO José Gutiérrez told attendees of the Nuclear Energy Assembly recently that the company is “very stable” and will emerge stronger from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The company is also working with its customers to find a way to complete the Vogtle and V.C. Summer reactors, Gutiérrez said at the conference in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The Chapter 11 filing, Gutiérrez said, was not a result of problems with the company’s AP1000 technology and that the construction of the reactors in China is proceeding well.

Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy protection, he said, to protect its core businesses and provide time for the company to restructure for continuing operation. He noted that cost overruns on construction of the Vogtle and Summer reactors and further complications related to post-Fukushima requirements created by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) contributed to the company’s decision to file for bankruptcy protection.

Since filing, the company has been awarded several fuel and services contracts and delivered fuel to 21 reactors in the past three months without compromising any outage schedules.

“That’s a demonstration of confidence,” Gutiérrez said.

Westinghouse will continue with its reactor design business and pursue future sales, he said, but the project model will more closely resemble the one used in China than the Vogtle and Summer projects in which Westinghouse took on the role of constructor.