USEC CEO Calls for Strong National Energy Policy To Power America

USEC CEO Calls for Strong National Energy Policy To Power America's Future

BETHESDA, Md., Nov 15, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE)

USEC Inc. President and CEO William H. Timbers today called for Congress and the Bush administration to develop a strategic national energy policy that will overcome constraints to expanding, modernizing and diversifying America's electric power generating and transmission system. In a November 15 address before the Detroit Economic Club, he said this is necessary to have reliable and affordable electric power to sustain the economic growth of our nation.

Timbers cited the steadily increasing demands for electric power and thus the need for new generating facilities. He described the need for a diverse energy portfolio of coal, oil, nuclear, natural gas, and renewable technologies, including wind and solar power. The challenge is to use all of them to their best advantage, while addressing their inherent problems. "If necessity is the mother of invention," Timbers said, "then America is the right place to develop inventive solutions."

"Nuclear power is a major contributor to that energy portfolio," said Timbers. There are 103 nuclear power reactors in America, producing 20 percent of the nation's electricity - with no greenhouse gas emissions. Timbers pointed out how concerns about global warming, steady increases in nuclear power plant efficiency and the resulting low cost of nuclear power production have contributed to a growing level of public support for nuclear power. Quoting Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, Timbers said: "The advantages of nuclear power are very considerable," and nuclear energy offers "a potential reservoir of new sources of energy which are not available by other means."

About ten percent of America's electricity comes from recycled nuclear warhead material, Timbers said. He described how one of the largest and most successful nuclear nonproliferation programs, called Megatons to Megawatts, is helping to make the world a safer place by converting warheads once aimed at American cities into electricity.

The Megatons to Megawatts program is a 20-year, $12 billion agreement between the U.S. and Russian governments to eliminate Russian highly enriched uranium equivalent to 20,000 nuclear warheads. USEC is the U.S. government's executive agent implementing the program. The warhead material is recycled into fuel, and USEC purchases the fuel for use in U.S. nuclear power plants.

"It is sweet irony that warheads once aimed at Detroit and other American cities have been recycled into fuel that is now providing light and power to those same areas," said Timbers.

Citing the Bush administration's 2001 plan for a national energy policy, Timbers said that these efforts were a solid starting point for congressional legislation. Essential ingredients for a comprehensive plan must include:

-- The establishment of incentives to increase the supply of all domestic energy resources; -- Research and development on advanced coal, nuclear, natural gas and energy-efficient technologies; -- Incentives to increase energy efficiency; and -- Bold initiatives to accelerate results.

In his address, Timbers also pointed out the necessity of modernizing and expanding our country's transmission and distribution systems. Timbers recalled the 2003 North American blackout when trees contacting a power line in Ohio eventually led to 50 million people being left in the dark. Investing in modernizing the nation's transmission system will return huge dividends in increased productivity and reliability, he said.

The complete text of Timbers' speech can be found in the News Room section of USEC's website, www.usec.com.

USEC Inc. (NYSE:USU), a global energy company, is the world's leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.

SOURCE: USEC Inc.

USEC Inc. Charles Yulish, (301) 564-3391 or Elizabeth Stuckle, (301) 564-3399

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