March 17, 2014

USEC R&D PROGRAM WILL NOT BE INCLUDED IN TRANSPORTATION BILL

By ExchangeMonitor

Following developments in the House yesterday, chances have slimmed for Congressional support for a Department of Energy program for give a financial lifeline to USEC’s American Centrifuge Plant before a funding deadline at the end of the month. The Senate passed a transportation bill last week that included a provision giving DOE transfer authority to reprogram $106 million for a research, development and deployment program for the project in FY 2012. However, House leaders announced yesterday that they will not take up the Senate version of the bill and instead will seek a short-term extension of the current highway funding bill that will not include amendments. The RD&D program is currently funded through the end of the month by a deal in which DOE took on $44 million in depleted uranium tails liability from USEC, freeing up money for the company to spend on the program. In return, USEC is enriching uranium that DOE will use to produce tritium.

DOE and USEC are currently seeking a non-legislative solution in the event that Congressional support for the project is not reached by the end of March. The company still has $82 million in tails liability that could be transferred to DOE in a similar arrangement to the earlier deal, and DOE is also looking at several other options for reprogramming smaller amounts. But ultimately the company is hoping for legislation this fiscal year that would fund the program, and DOE and Congressional appropriators are in ongoing discussions on potential funding solutions.

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