Enexus, EquaGen offer companies a new identity

New Orleans, La. – Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) announced today it has selected Enexus Energy Corporation as the new name of the independent, publicly traded nuclear power company it plans to spin off later this year, and EquaGen L.L.C. as the name of the new joint venture Entergy and Enexus will co-own and which will operate the six nuclear reactors to be spun off.

The naming of Enexus and EquaGen is the latest milestone in a process that began last November 5 when Entergy announced plans to pursue a separation of the non-utility nuclear business from Entergy’s rate-regulated utility business through a tax-free spin-off of the non-utility nuclear business.

Until now the spin-off company, Enexus Energy Corporation, has been known internally and in required government filings by temporary names such as “SpinCo” or “NewCo.” Similarly, EquaGen has until its naming been called simply the “JV” for joint venture.

After the spin-off, Enexus – which will be headquartered in Jackson, Miss. – will own six wholesale reactors that have been part of Entergy’s 11-reactor fleet, including two at the Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan, N.Y., and one each at Vermont Yankee in Vernon, Vt.; Pilgrim Station in Plymouth, Mass.; the James A. FitzPatrick plant near Oswego, N.Y.; and the Palisades plant in Covert, Mich. It also will include various related nuclear businesses that are now part of Entergy.

Entergy’s senior executive leadership has been working with an international brand architect, the California-based RiechesBaird Company, for the past three months to create names and corporate identities for each new company that would do the best job of positioning the company and projecting what it should emphasize.

An initial list of more than 1,500 names was narrowed down to a short list of approximately two dozen finalists from which the final selections were made.

The objective in choosing a name for the spin-off company – which will have its own board of directors and be publicly traded – was to capture the appeal of reliable nuclear power, which is virtually emissions-free and supports U.S. energy independence, while preparing for future energy demands. The name “Enexus” (en-eksus) is an outgrowth of the words “energy” and “nexus.” “Enexus” describes nuclear power’s role in the nexus between the world’s growing energy demand and the United States’ need for clean, environmentally friendly power. The tag line for Enexus is “Today’s energy – tomorrow’s solution.”

“We wanted a name that spoke to nuclear power’s ability to meet the energy demands of today and tomorrow with safe, reliable and environmentally-friendly electricity,” said Richard J. Smith, who currently is president of Entergy but who will become president and chief executive officer of Enexus. “The fact that Entergy and Enexus share the first two letters is also tribute to Entergy’s legacy of owning and managing a successful nuclear fleet that Enexus is determined to carry on.”

The goal for the joint venture naming was to capture an identity that would stress the company’s track record of safe nuclear operations and its expertise in leading the industry in a new direction. EquaGen (ekwa-jen) gets its origins from the words “equity” and “generation.” EquaGen stands for a company focused on providing world-class safety, operations, security and productivity. EquaGen’s tagline is “Proven energy expertise.”

“While EquaGen will have an obvious focus on the operational success of Entergy and Enexus plants, future growth of the joint venture will also stem from our ability to leverage that proven expertise into new business with other companies as a nuclear services provider,” explained Michael Kansler, who will remain Entergy’s chief nuclear officer after the spin-off but will also assume the role of EquaGen chief executive officer. “In solving America’s need for electricity, leading nuclear operators like EquaGen must be part of the equation.”

Entergy also unveiled new logos for both companies. The logo for Enexus implies the connection – or nexus – of a new era of energy, making powerful connections between energy and us. EquaGen’s stylized equal sign conveys momentum and progress, the sum of proven, bottom-line safety, operations and cost results.

Enexus’ logo:

EquaGen’s logo:

EquaGen L.L.C. is expected to have operating responsibility for the Enexus fleet, to provide nuclear management and technical services to Entergy's nuclear plants and to continue to supply contracted services to the Nebraska Public Power District for the Cooper Nuclear Station. As a premier nuclear operator, EquaGen will have broad nuclear experience building and operating boiling and pressurized water reactor technologies. EquaGen is expected to be uniquely positioned to grow through offerings of nuclear operating expertise, as well as ancillary nuclear services to third parties, including plant decommissioning and relicensing. EquaGen will be headquartered in Jackson, Miss.

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $11 billion and approximately 14,300 employees.

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Entergy’s online address is www.entergy.com
Enexus’ online address is www.enexusenergy.com
EquaGen’s online address is www.equagen.com