By Lee Hyo-sik
The Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) will buy Toshiba’s stake in a consortium that plans to build a nuclear power plant in Britain, CEO Cho Hwan-eik said Tuesday.
Cho also said the state-run utility company will not take over the debt-ridden Westinghouse Electric Corp.
“We are not interested at all in acquiring a stake in Toshiba (or any of its corporate entities),” KEPCO CEO told reporters. “But we will act quickly to purchase the Japanese firm’s 60 percent stake in the British nuclear consortium, NuGen, as soon as its stakeholders reach a consensus on the planned sale.”
Last month, Toshiba said it will dispose of its unprofitable nuclear firm Westinghouse and a 60 percent stake in NuGen to raise funds to prop up its deteriorating financial health.
French utility firm, ENGIE, holds the remaining 40 percent stake in the consortium that plans to begin the construction of a nuclear power plant near Sellafield, Britain’s nuclear fuel reprocessing and decommissioning site, in 2018.
If KEPCO acquires Toshiba’s NuGen stake, this would be its first new nuclear power plant project in eight years after it won a $20 billion one in 2009 to build four nuclear reactors in Barakah, the United Arab Emirates.
“As far as we know, the British and Japanese governments have not yet agreed on how to proceed with Toshiba’s NuGen stake sale,” Cho said. “As soon as things clear up, we will take necessary steps to enter the British nuclear market.”
KEPCO’s disinterest in Westinghouse shows that it is easier for the firm to acquire a stake in an entity, set up for solely undertaking a certain project, according to company officials.
If the company was to take over Westinghouse or other private firms, it would have to undergo a rigorous regulatory procedure.
When asked about KEPCO’s failure to secure new nuclear power plant contracts since 2009, the CEO pointed to falling global demand for plants following the meltdown of Japan’s Fukushima in 2011, and low crude oil prices.
“KEPCO has been working hard to win new deals abroad. We will soon submit a bid for a planned nuclear power plant project in South Africa,” Cho said. “We will also continue to monitor what happens in Saudi Arabia as the oil-rich country is expected to start a nuclear project in two years. I think it will likely take some time until we clinch new deals.”
Cho has become the longest-serving head in the utility firm’s history after shareholders approved a one-year third term Tuesday. If he remains in office until March 2017, he would have served as KEPCO CEO for five years. After completing his three-year term in March 2016, he renewed his contract for one year.