Washington (Platts)--29Jul2009

USEC President and CEO John Welch asked President Barack Obama July 29
for a review of DOE's July 28 decision to offer $45 million in research and
development funding for USEC's partially-built American Centrifuge Plant in
Ohio. The company had requested $2 billion in loan guarantees to support the
completion of plant construction. Welch and the Democratic governors of four
states -- Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Maryland -- asked the administration
to consider the domestic economic stimulus, national security, energy
security, and other benefits the project could bring. They also warned of the
2,000 layoffs of USEC and contractor employees that could follow DOE's
decision. Welch said he directed construction to stop and demobilization to
begin, which will mean layoffs. He said USEC invested $500 million in the
plant after Obama pledged to Ohio Governor Ted Strickland last fall to work
with DOE to make loan guarantees available to USEC and other domestic,
emissions-free energy projects. USEC's share price closed at $3.75 July 29
after a second day of heavy trading, down $0.30, or 7.41%, from the previous
day's close. On July 28, the price was down $2.14, or 34.57% from the July 27
close.