Santee Cooper asserts sole ownership of Summer 2 and 3 equipment in complaint against Westinghouse Electric Co.
May 15, 2019
Santee Cooper filed a federal complaint seeking a formal declaration that Santee Cooper is sole owner of equipment purchased for the failed V.C. Summer 2 and 3 project and asking the court to require that Westinghouse Electric Co. (as reorganized) provide to Santee Cooper with Certification Documentation related to that equipment.
Santee Cooper has also asked a New York bankruptcy court to dismiss Westinghouse’s claim of ownership regarding that same equipment. That claim was only filed after Brookfield Business Partners acquired Westinghouse last August, as part of the Plan of Reorganization approved in Westinghouse’s bankruptcy case.
“Westinghouse has no legal claim to this equipment,” said J. Michael Baxley Sr., Santee Cooper senior vice president and general counsel. “Westinghouse never listed this equipment among assets that bankruptcy code required it to disclose, nor did Westinghouse claim this equipment when it retrieved assets left behind after it walked off the site July 31, 2017.
“Furthermore, on March 29, 2017, Westinghouse rejected the very contract it is using to make its fabricated claim, and the company has not contributed a dime to the maintenance or preservation of the equipment since that date,” Baxley continued. “Finally, Santee Cooper and former co-owner SCE&G more than paid for the cost of the equipment while the project was active.”
Former majority owner SCE&G ceded its ownership in the nuclear project equipment through a forbearance agreement to Santee Cooper on Dec. 13, 2018, which was approved by the S.C. Public Service Commission and is further evidence that Santee Cooper is the sole owner.
The claim properly belongs in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Charleston Division, because the equipment is and has been in Santee Cooper’s possession in South Carolina and the transactions underlying ownership of the equipment took place here.
Santee Cooper is South Carolina’s largest power provider, the largest Green Power generator and the ultimate source of electricity for 2 million people across the state. Through its low-cost, reliable and environmentally responsible electricity and water services, and through innovative partnerships and initiatives that attract and retain industry and jobs, Santee Cooper powers South Carolina. To learn more, visit www.santeecooper.com.
