Duke explores 'nuclear option'

摘要

Making no commitment to a reactor order, NuStart member Duke Energy announces plans to pursue its own reactor choice, site selection, and construction/operating license application. Conventional wisdom holds that any U.S. utility that expresses serious interest in building new power reactors would suffer immediately in the stock market as fretful investors sell off the utility' s shares for fear of high risks. Let the record show that at the close of business on February 15, Duke Energy's stock was priced at $27.45 per share. One day later, the stock closed at $27.35. The next day, it dropped to $27.01. But the announcement on February 16 by Henry "Brew" Barron, chief nuclear officer of Duke Energy's Duke Power subsidiary, did not trigger a massive selloff. As February ended, Duke closed at $26.99—down roughly 1.7 percent from two weeks earlier, well within the usual fluctuations of a high-profile stock— and by March 4, the stock had climbed to $27.80, higher than it was before Barron's announcement.