On July 6, 2005, Malcolm Wicks spoke to a group of 200 delegates of the British nuclear industry. Mr. Wicks is the UK’s minister of state for energy.
He stated that the government had put a lot of thought into the decision to sell Westinghouse. A major factor in the decision process was the fact that the British government is studying the possibility of entering the nuclear power plant market as a buyer.
Owning a power plant vendor while in the market as a buyer could complicate what will already be a difficult and time consuming process. If the state owned company is the chosen vendor, other potential bidders could claim that they would have offered a better deal. If the state owned company is not automatically chosen, the employees could vocally challenge the decision makers and ask why they chose someone else. If the contracts for building plants are put out for bidding, there could be questions about inside deals and lack of transparency of the process.
Food for thought from the Fuel for Thought nuclear congress held at the University of Wales Caerleon campus July 6-7, 2005.
Here are some links of interest:
- Wicks waxes nuclear Nuclear Engineering International, July 7, 2005.
- Malcolm Wicks MP – Minister of State for Energy.
