The talks will include the chief executives of Toshiba Corp., the lead contractor for STP Units 3 and 4; Toshiba Power Systems, Toshiba’s nuclear power subsidiary; and NRG Energy, CPS Energy’s partner in the STP expansion project
– By Stephen Heiser –
CPS Energy CEO Milton Lee and Interim General Manager Steve Bartley will travel to Japan Tuesday for face-to-face talks with Toshiba Corp., about the status of the proposed expansion of the South Texas Project (STP) nuclear power plant in Matagorda County.
The talks will include the chief executives of Toshiba Corp., the lead contractor for STP Units 3 and 4; Toshiba Power Systems, Toshiba’s nuclear power subsidiary; and NRG Energy, CPS Energy’s partner in the STP expansion project.
“We will meet with all our partners in this project and deliver a straightforward message – we believe STP expansion deserves serious consideration as our next significant source of on-demand electricity that we need before 2020, however it must be affordable for CPS Energy customers,” Bartley said. “If we can’t achieve this goal, then we will look seriously at other options.”
Joining Bartley and Lee will be Paula Gold-Williams, CPS Energy’s chief financial officer, and Bob Temple, vice president of nuclear development. While in Tokyo, they also plan to meet with Japanese government officials to discuss project financing possibilities.
In addition to delivering the message that San Antonio’s participation in the nuclear project cannot succeed if there are major cost increases, Bartley said other objectives include obtaining agreement from Toshiba and NRG Energy on a pricing methodology as well as obtaining assurance that Toshiba understands the need to provide a dependable cost estimate by Dec. 31, 2009.
“Our parameters for success and the message we will deliver in Japan is the same message we have conveyed over and over during the summer – that is, to have no more than an approximate 5 percent customer bill impact every other year as a result of our participation in STP Units 3 and 4,” Bartley said.
The trip to Japan already had been planned some time ago, Bartley noted, but now it takes on even more importance.
“We will be guests of Toshiba for discussions with their top executives in their central Tokyo offices on Nov. 12 and 13,” he said. “We are traveling as economically as possible. This will be a relatively short visit, but it’s very important everyone involved in this project clearly understands CPS Energy’s position.”
Bartley said CPS Energy will continue to work with Toshiba to develop – as prescribed in the project’s EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) agreement – a revised cost estimate by the end of the year. “It has to be reasonable and affordable for our electric customers for us to continue,” he emphasized. “Our in-depth analyses over the past three years have indicated STP expansion is the best long-term option for reliable electricity, assuming the cost of building STP Units 3 and 4 is within our budget.”
CPS Energy is the nation's largest municipally owned energy company providing both natural gas and electric service. Acquired by the City of San Antonio in 1942, the company serves approximately 700,000 electric customers and more than 320,000 natural gas customers in and around America�s seventh-largest city. CPS Energy owns the highest financial ratings of any electric system in the U. S., stands number 1 in wind-energy capacity among municipally owned utilities across the country and ranks number 1 in Texas in solar-generated electricity under contract.