Westinghouse Electric Co.’s recent realization of more than $6 billion in additional costs related to completing construction of two U.S. nuclear projects forced the firm to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 29. Meanwhile, the respective utility owners, Southern Co. and SCANA Corp., are facing heightened Wall Street scrutiny as they scramble to confirm independently the new numbers. They will have to justify potential increased costs to state regulators and investors or consider other options, including abandonment.
Westinghouse’s bankruptcy filing in U.S. District Court in New York City lists the biggest creditors as construction manager Fluor, at $193.9 million, and CB&I, at $145 million—a deferred purchase price from Westinghouse’s 2015 acquisition of CB&I’s nuclear construction operations.