SCANA Management Reviews Financial and Operational Highlights, Reaffirms 2009 Earnings Guidance at Analyst Meeting
– By Linton Levy –
At a meeting with security analysts held yesterday at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in Jenkinsville, SC, the management of SCANA Corporation reviewed the Company's business strategy, and the Company also reaffirmed its previous guidance that 2009 earnings will be in the range of $2.65 to $2.95 per share.
“We are fortunate to live in an area of the country that continues to grow despite these challenging economic times,” said SCANA CEO Bill Timmerman. “We see nuclear power as the clear choice to meet the ever-growing demands for electricity in South Carolina.”
SCE&G and Santee Cooper, a state-owned electric and water utility in South Carolina, have joined together to build two new nuclear units to meet future electrical demand. The units will reside on the site of the existing 966-megawatt V.C. Summer Nuclear plant, which is also co-owned by the companies. The plan calls for the first unit to be operational in 2016, the second in 2019. The two new units will be Westinghouse AP1000 units, each having a capacity of 1,117 megawatts.
Analysts from several large financial institutions heard presentations from Company officials on a variety of topics, including a financial overview of the company and the regulatory climate in South Carolina. A tour of the plant was also provided, giving visiting analysts a rare peak behind the scenes of an operating nuclear plant as well as the site for the new units.
The meeting was webcasted and a replay is available at www.scana.com.