Toshiba chairman resigns over huge nuclear business loss

[Ksheed]

Big losses due to the Westinghouse/CB&I  buyout.


http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/toshiba-delays-earnings-reports-march-audit-woes-45475939

[HeavyD]

To be honest, the issues extend past CB&I/Shaw/WECTEC to Westinghouse.

The budget here (V. C. Summer) is intact, and the 2 units will be finished.

Nothing much else to say, except it's been like watching a train wreck happen in slow motion.

[Ksheed]

To be honest, the issues extend past CB&I/Shaw/WECTEC to Westinghouse.

The budget here (V. C. Summer) is intact, and the 2 units will be finished.

Nothing much else to say, except it's been like watching a train wreck happen in slow motion.

IMHO, the problems date back to Shaw's over-commitment on contracts that they secured prior to being bought out by CB&I. They aggressively secured big contracts at pennies on the dollar to increase their backlog, even though it was obvious that they wouldn't be able to successfully fulfill all of them. Their backlog looked great on paper and CB&I bought them. Then they struggled mightily on the contracts and lost quite a few sites; SONGS, Palo Verde, Wolf Creek, Callaway.


The struggles with prefab for the new units was well documented as well as the execution at the new units. Westinghouse's choice to buy out CB&I/Shaw was a stop gap measure, approved buy the utility/owners in hopes of righting the ship, but the loss was inevitable. While I fully believe that the new units will be completed (eventually) I certainly don't believe that budgets are intact, unless you speak of a revised budget. 


http://www.postandcourier.com/business/power-struggle-financial-woes-jolt-contractor-at-south-carolina-nuclear/article_7f381a60-ea8c-11e6-bede-4f96f251a78c.html

What's not in dispute is that the nuclear expansion is at least two years behind schedule and will cost about $4.2 billion more than originally projected, a toxic financial combination that helped stoke the crisis that's now unfolding at Toshiba.


The best-case scenario is that construction will be completed in August 2020, when the second Westinghouse unit is set to go online under the latest schedule, and come in at or under the most recent budget figure.


Beyond that, it's anyone's guess, though no one is calling for what could be rightly described as "the nuclear option" - abandoning the expansion and leaving billions of dollars of so-called stranded assets in the ground in Fairfield County.


"SCANA, the residents of South Carolina and all of the government entities have a lot at stake in terms of completing the project," said Travis Miller, who follows SCE&G and its parent as director of utilities research at Morningstar Research Services. "So I'd expect, given their interests are all aligned, the parties will find some way to complete the project."

[Marlin]

Westinghouse reassures Summer plant owners

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/C-Westinghouse-reassures-Summer-plant-owners-15021702.html

[Ksheed]

On schedule according to the newly released schedule.


From the linked article:

"The completion dates provided in the new schedule are within the 18-month contingency period provided under the construction provisions of the Base Load Review Act administered by the Public Service Commission of South Carolina and would enable both units to qualify, under current law, for the federal production tax credits," SCANA said.


SCE&G will monitor Westinghouse's "ability to adhere to the new schedule", as well as Westinghouse and Toshiba's financial condition and its "effect on their ability to complete the project".

[HeavyD]

I had forgotten how terrible and misinformed the reporting from the Post and Courier can be.  Ugh.

Not 100% sure where he got that $4.2 billion number from, and he talks about us expanding the reactor.  Nitpicking, I know.

The units are progressing and are going to be finished.  We elected the fixed-cost potion presented to us by Westinghouse, as previously stated publicly.

We are providing oversight of the work virtually round-the-clock.  So, there's really not much more to offer from the inside.

[Ksheed]

I had forgotten how terrible and misinformed the reporting from the Post and Courier can be.  Ugh.

Not 100% sure where he got that $4.2 billion number from, and he talks about us expanding the reactor.  Nitpicking, I know.

The units are progressing and are going to be finished.  We elected the fixed-cost potion presented to us by Westinghouse, as previously stated publicly.

We are providing oversight of the work virtually round-the-clock.  So, there's really not much more to offer from the inside.

Thanks for sharing. It's hard for outsiders to know what's really going on. We all have a vested interest in the units.

[Marlin]

Toshiba’s Nuclear Reactor Mess Winds Back to a Louisiana Swamp

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-13/toshiba-s-nuclear-reactor-mess-winds-back-to-a-louisiana-swamp

[HeavyD]

I cannot emphasize how true and correct that article about Toshiba's issues winding back to Louisiana are.

[Ksheed]

James Bernhard Jr. played his cards right to best benefit himself and the Shaw shareholders. No surprise that he had no comment for the article.

IMHO, the problems date back to Shaw's over-commitment on contracts that they secured prior to being bought out by CB&I. They aggressively secured big contracts at pennies on the dollar to increase their backlog, even though it was obvious that they wouldn't be able to successfully fulfill all of them. Their backlog looked great on paper and CB&I bought them. Then they struggled mightily on the contracts and lost quite a few sites; SONGS, Palo Verde, Wolf Creek, Callaway.


The struggles with prefab for the new units was well documented as well as the execution at the new units. Westinghouse's choice to buy out CB&I/Shaw was a stop gap measure, approved buy the utility/owners in hopes of righting the ship, but the loss was inevitable. While I fully believe that the new units will be completed (eventually) I certainly don't believe that budgets are intact, unless you speak of a revised budget. 

[Ksheed]

Channeling a little GLW....

Love them or hate them, everyone in the industry should be hoping for Shaw to be successful on both of the new build projects. Huge delays, mistakes, and cost overruns would cripple the "Nuclear Renaissance." There is only one group of people wishing for that. Good luck Shaw workers.