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Toshiba's Nuclear Unit Westinghouse Files for Bankruptcy

takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Westinghouse Electric Company [wikipedia.org] has filed for bankruptcy [reuters.com]:

Toshiba Corp's troubled U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors on Wednesday, as its Japanese parent seeks to limit losses that have plunged it into crisis.

A bankruptcy filing will allow Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse, whose nuclear plant projects have been dogged by delays and cost overruns, to renegotiate or break its construction contracts, although the utilities that own the projects would likely seek damages.

For Toshiba, the aim is to mitigate liabilities stemming from guarantees it provided backing the contractor's work. Toshiba said Westinghouse-related liabilities totaled $9.8 billion as of December.

Toshiba's Westinghouse problems have caused the company to sell off other assets:

Toshiba in Trouble [soylentnews.org]
Toshiba Shares Plunge Ahead of Nuclear Investment Writedown [soylentnews.org]
Toshiba Considers NAND Business Split; Samsung Delays Release of 4 TB SSDs [soylentnews.org]
Toshiba Nuked Half its Assets [soylentnews.org]

Huge Nuclear Cost Overruns Push Toshiba's Westinghouse Into Bankruptcy

Fnord666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

Westinghouse Electric Co, a unit of Japanese conglomerate Toshiba Corp, filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, hit by billions of dollars of cost overruns at four nuclear reactors under construction in the U.S. Southeast.

The bankruptcy casts doubt on the future of the first new U.S. nuclear power plants in three decades, which were scheduled to begin producing power as soon as this week, but are now years behind schedule.

The four reactors are part of two projects known as V.C. Summer in South Carolina, which is majority owned by SCANA Corp, and Vogtle in Georgia, which is owned by a group of utilities led by Southern Co.

Costs for the projects have soared due to increased safety demands by U.S. regulators, and also due to significantly higher-than-anticipated costs for labor, equipment and components.

Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse said it hopes to use bankruptcy to isolate and reorganize around its "very profitable" nuclear fuel and power plant servicing businesses from its money-losing construction operation.

Source: Reuters [reuters.com]

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