Atomic Energy Authority restructuring

A response to an amplified competition in the international nuclear decommissioning industry the UK Atomic Energy Authority has revealed a new corporate arrangement.

The authority, which is part of the Department for Business and Enterprise, is to initiate a series of subsidiaries which will take on aspects of its work.

One of the new subsidiaries to be created, UKAEA, will focus on nuclear decommissioning and environmental management. It will be central to the restructuring and is to be based in the group’s current business division.

The authority has bought in financial advisers to ensure that all options, including privatisation, for UKAEA will be considered.

The UK Atomic Energy Authority team at Dounreay is also set to become a separate entity and will hold the license to decommission the site under UKAEA supervisation.

The maojrity of UK Atomic Energy Authority staff based at Windscale will be transferring to Sellafield Ltd. This in turn is set to hold the license to decommission Windscale, even though the UKAEA will hold on to a team on site.

The authority will keep hold of the licenses for the nuclear sites at Harwell and Winfrith. Yet these licenses are likely to be combined later this year when the come under the UKAEA.

The chairwoman of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, Barbara Judge, has stated that the creation of the new company gives a foundation upon which the authority can compete successfully in the forthcoming competition “for the decommissioning of sites in the UK” and international market.