Five-Party Arrangement Extends Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant Enrichment Operations

USEC Inc. (NYSE: USU) today entered into a multi-party arrangement with
Energy Northwest, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), the
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the U. S. Department of Energy
(DOE) to extend uranium enrichment operations at the Paducah
Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Paducah, Ky.

Under the agreements, DOE will provide high-assay depleted uranium
hexafluoride, also known as tails, to Energy Northwest. Energy Northwest
has contracted with USEC to re-enrich the tails into low enriched
uranium. Energy Northwest will utilize a portion of the low enriched
uranium for its Columbia Nuclear Generating Station and will sell the
remainder of the U.S.-origin low enriched uranium to TVA for use in
TVA′s reactors, including reactors that are used to produce tritium, a
vital component for maintaining the U.S. nuclear deterrent. TVA will
supply the power for the re-enrichment under an agreement to extend the
existing USEC-TVA power contract.

'USEC is pleased to deliver on one of its stated objectives to extend
Paducah operations on an economically sound basis,' said John Welch,
USEC president and CEO. 'This agreement represents a multipoint win for
government and industry that allows taxpayers to realize value by
converting depleted uranium tails into an asset. At the same time it
provides material critical to our national defense that can only come
from U.S. technology.'

The Department of Energy approved the transaction on May 15 following
approvals by the USEC, TVA and Energy Northwest boards of directors. An
independent review performed by Energy Resources International concluded
the transaction is consistent with the DOE′s policy of minimal impact on
the U.S. uranium market. Energy Northwest and TVA plan to use the
enriched uranium in their reactors over many years, so as to not have a
material adverse impact on the markets.

The agreement calls for DOE to provide Energy Northwest with
approximately 9,000 metric tons of high-assay depleted uranium. USEC
will enrich the tails to make about 480 metric tons of low enriched
uranium. The work, combined with other ongoing USEC commercial
obligations, will require approximately five million separative work
units (SWU), a standard measure of uranium enrichment that represents
the effort that is required to increase the concentration of the U-235
isotope in the uranium.

'This multi-faceted agreement creates advantages for all the parties
involved,? said John M. A. Donelson, USEC vice president of marketing,
sales, and power. 'It preserves a vital domestic source of uranium
enrichment for national security purposes and helps bridge the gap
between Paducah′s production and the American Centrifuge technology. I
am also pleased that we have extended our power supply agreement with
TVA in a mutually beneficial manner.?

The agreement converts U.S. government depleted uranium into valuable
nuclear fuel to power and light homes in the Pacific Northwest and the
Tennessee Valley and delays costs to the U.S. government associated with
maintaining the facility in safe shutdown if it were to cease enrichment
operations at the end of this month. It continues USEC′s position as
TVA′s largest industrial electricity customer while minimizing any
impact on the domestic uranium market.

'This is a complex deal, and on behalf of the USEC employees whose jobs
will be saved, I want to thank all the parties that came together to
execute this business transaction that will serve our nation′s near-term
national security needs,? said Steven R. Penrod, USEC vice president of
enrichment operations. 'We especially want to thank Senators McConnell
and Paul and Representative Whitfield for their leadership and
persistence bringing this to a successful conclusion, and in particular
for their tireless efforts to protect the workers at the Paducah
facility.?

The work will take about 12 months and supports a one-year extension of
Paducah enrichment operations. The overall tails disposal liability of
the U.S. government will be reduced as a result of the agreement and
subsequent processing.

Additional information can be found in the Company′s current report on
Form 8-K filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Paducah Background

The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, owned by DOE and leased and
operated by USEC, is the only uranium enrichment facility capable of
providing U.S.-origin uranium (enriched with U.S. technology) needed for
the U.S. government′s tritium replenishment program, which supports
maintaining the country′s nuclear deterrent. The Paducah plant is the
largest uranium enrichment plant in the United States, accounting for
nearly all current U.S. enriched uranium production, and has operated
for almost 60 years.

USEC Inc., a global energy company, is a leading supplier of enriched
uranium fuel and nuclear industry related services for commercial
nuclear power plants.

Energy Northwest is a joint operating agency and municipal corporation
of the State of Washington.

The Bonneville Power Administration is a federal agency within the U.S.
Department of Energy.

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation and a
supplier of power to the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release contains 'forward-looking statements? within the
meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ? that is,
statements related to future events. In this context, forward-looking
statements may address our expected future business and financial
performance, and often contain words such as 'expects?, 'anticipates?,
'intends?, 'plans?, 'believes?, 'will? and other words of similar
meaning. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that
are, to different degrees, uncertain. For USEC, particular risks and
uncertainties that could cause our actual future results to differ
materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements
include, but are not limited to: risks related to the ongoing transition
of our business, including uncertainty regarding the transition of the
Paducah gaseous diffusion plant and uncertainty regarding continued
funding for the American Centrifuge project and the impact of decisions
we may make in the near term on our business and prospects; our
dependency on the multi-party arrangement with Energy Northwest, BPA,
TVA and DOE to support continued enrichment operations at the Paducah
plant; risks related to Energy Northwest obtaining the financing needed
to complete the multi-party arrangement and the potential for
termination of the agreement if such financing is not secured on terms
acceptable to Energy Northwest; risks related to the performance of each
of the parties under the multi-party arrangement, including the
obligations of DOE to timely deliver depleted uranium to Energy
Northwest; the impact of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan
on the nuclear industry and on our business, results of operations and
prospects; the impact of excess supply in the market and the lack of
uncommitted demand for low enriched uranium over the next two to four
years; the potential impacts of a decision to cease enrichment
operations at Paducah after the end of the multi-party arrangement;
restrictions in our credit facility on our spending on the American
Centrifuge project after May 31, 2012 and the potential for us to
demobilize the project; the potential for DOE to seek to exercise its
remedies under the June 2002 DOE-USEC agreement; our dependence on
deliveries of LEU from Russia under a commercial agreement with a
Russian government entity known as Techsnabexport and on a single
production facility and the potential for us to cease commercial
enrichment of uranium in the event of a decision to shut down Paducah
enrichment operations; changes in US government priorities and the
availability of government funding, including loan guarantees; the
competitive environment for our products and services; changes in the
nuclear energy industry; and other risks and uncertainties discussed in
our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our
Annual Report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, which are
available on our website www.usec.com.
We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements except as
required by law.

USEC Inc.

Media: Paul Jacobson, 301-564-3399

Investors: Steven
Wingfield, 301-564-3354