CEG Constellation Energy Grp. Common Stock

Selection of Upstate New York Site is Key Step in Process Prior to UniStar Submission of License Application in Fourth Quarter of 2008 BALTIMORE, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- UniStar Nuclear Energy (UNE), a strategic joint venture between Constellation Energy (NYSE:CEG) and the EDF Group, today announced it has notified the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of its plans to submit a Combined License (COL) application in late 2008 for a potential advanced design nuclear reactor at Constellation Energy's Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station in upstate New York. UNE submitted a letter on Feb. 8 to the NRC formally selecting Nine Mile Point as the site for a potential U.S. Evolutionary Power Reactor (U.S. EPR). UniStar noted that it has yet to make a final decision to build a new reactor at Nine Mile Point. "This notification to the NRC is an important step in UniStar's plans to develop Nine Mile Point as a potential site for one of four advanced design reactors in the United States," said Michael J. Wallace, chairman of UniStar and executive vice president of Constellation Energy. "We have not made a final decision to construct a new reactor but we are moving ahead systematically in both Maryland and New York, and will make any decisions on where construction might take place based upon many factors." Wallace noted that New York officials have been extremely supportive of the proposed 1,600 megawatt reactor, a carbon-free generation project that would help address a projected shortage of electricity in New York, create several thousand construction jobs and add more than 350 permanent jobs. UniStar submitted a partial COL application for its so-called "reference" plant, a proposed third reactor adjacent to Constellation Energy's Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Plant in southern Maryland, in July 2007. The NRC accepted the submittal for detailed review on Jan. 25, 2008. UniStar plans to submit the remaining portions of the COL application next month. In December 2007, UniStar's partner in the U.S. nuclear renaissance, reactor-manufacturer AREVA, submitted the design certification application for the U.S. EPR to the NRC. Late last year, UniStar announced an agreement with turbine-generator supplier Alstom to secure the turbine-generator systems for the first four U.S. EPRs. "We are working to be in a position to make a decision to break ground for a new reactor at the Calvert Cliffs site at the end of 2008, depending upon the outcome of several issues, including economics and federal loan guarantees," Wallace said. In addition to advanced design reactors in New York and Maryland, UniStar is also working with PPL and AmerenUE, as well as emerging energy companies such as AEHI and Amarillo Power, to develop potential U.S. EPRs in Pennsylvania, Missouri, Idaho and Texas. UniStar Nuclear Energy is powering the nuclear renaissance in North America through industry leadership, disciplined business practices and effective risk management. Based in Baltimore, UniStar Nuclear Energy provides the licensing, construction and operating services needed to support the expansion of clean, safe and sustainable nuclear energy in the United States. Constellation Energy (http://www.constellation.com/), a FORTUNE 125 company with 2007 revenues of $21 billion, is the nation's largest competitive supplier of electricity to large commercial and industrial customers and the nation's largest wholesale power seller. Constellation Energy also manages fuels and energy services on behalf of energy intensive industries and utilities. It owns a diversified fleet of 78 generating units located throughout the United States, totaling approximately 8,700 megawatts of generating capacity. The company delivers electricity and natural gas through the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE), its regulated utility in Central Maryland. An energy market leader in Europe, the EDF Group is an integrated energy company operating in all branches of the industry: generation, transmission, distribution, and the trading and sale of energy. The top electricity producer in Europe, the Group has predominantly nuclear and hydroelectric power plants in France, supplying electricity that is 95 percent CO2-free. Its transmission and distribution subsidiaries operate 1,246,000 km of medium and low voltage overhead and underground electricity lines and around 100,000 km of high and very high voltage networks. The Group is involved in the supply of energy and services to more than 38 million customers worldwide with more than 28 million of them in France. The Group's consolidated sales stood at euro 58.9 Billion in 2006 of which 42 percent was in Europe excluding France. EDF, which is listed on the Paris Bourse, is a member of the CAC 40 index. DATASOURCE: Constellation Energy; UniStar Nuclear Energy CONTACT: Media: Maureen Brown or Lori A. Vidil, +1-410-470-7433, or Investors: Kevin Hadlock, +1-410-470-3647, or Janet Mosher, +1-410-470-1884, all of Constellation Energy Web site: http://www.constellation.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/084087.html

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