USEC CONSIDERING COSTS OF A PADUCAH EXTENSION

As USEC works on the final details in an agreement with the Department of Energy to keep the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant running beyond the end of the month, it is keeping in mind that it may cost money upfront to keep the plant running, a USEC official said in a call with investors yesterday. The company is currently running the plant under a one-year reenrichment deal that was largely financed by the utilities Energy Northwest and the Tennessee Valley Authority, with material provided by the Department. While DOE and USEC have said that they are working on an extension of several months, details on how the extension would be funded have been unclear. “So extended Paducah operations, if that occurs, may utilize working capital as part of that operation,” USEC CFO John Barpoulis said yesterday. However, USEC executives have said that any extension would need to be profitable. “On the other hand, that may produce additional cash from operations, but on the whole we do have a significant inventory position and that is something that as we work through our transition we would expect to monetize,” Barpoulis said.