Two companies that have established good track records operating nuclear power plants in the US – Entergy Nuclear, a unit of Entergy Corp, and Duke Engineering & Services, a unit of Duke Energy – are joining forces to offer management and engineering services to the US commercial nuclear power industry.
The agreement, announced 9 December, sets the stage for the companies to make joint proposals to manage and operate nuclear plants owned by other US utilities. The companies say they are presently evaluating business opportunities for the alliance. They will continue to operate independently, joining with each other only on selected projects. Prior to the agreement, Entergy had by itself been pursuing contracts with US electric utilities to manage their nuclear plants. Entergy Nuclear, for example, is providing management services for decommissioning activities at the Maine Yankee nuclear plant. However, an earlier preliminary agreement between Entergy and the Power Authority of New York regarding management services for the Indian Point nuclear plant fell through.
DE&S, meanwhile, has performed work at 90% of US commercial nuclear utilities.
