Court rules U.S. owes utilities $25.69-million for SWU overcharges

The federal government owes nine utilities $25.69-million for overcharges on SWU the utilities bought from DOE from September 1992 to June 1993, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled today. During that period, the government factored a decommissioning and decontamination (D&D) charge for its gaseous diffusion plants (GDPs) into its SWU price while also charging customers a separate D&D fee. Under the order signed by Judge Christine Miller, damages for Duke Energy Corp.were put at roughly $7-million; Florida Power & Light Co., $6-million; Virginia Electric & Power Co., $2.9-million; Pennsylvania Power & Light Co., $2.6-million; Niagara Mohawk Power Corp., $1.9-million, Empresa Nacional Del Uranio, $1.7-million; Wisconsin Electric Power Co., $1.4-million; IES Utilities Inc. $1.4-million; and Consolidated Edison Co. of New York, $384,000. The decision could be the tip of the iceberg on the government's liability if, for instance, other utility customers of the GDPs take similar action. In June, the claims court ruled the government had overcharged the nine utilities.

platts.com