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A possible Exelon Corp. takeover of another leading energy generation company would not affect the proposed Victoria nuclear plant project, a company spokesman said.

Nor would an acquisition of NRG Energy, which owns 44 percent of the South Texas Project in Matagorda County, affect that site's proposed two-reactor expansion, said Craig Nesbit, vice president of communications for Exelon.

State Senate leaders worry that a combined company would disrupt the timeline of STP's proposed reactors, already further along in the process than the Victoria site. Residents opposing the plant think it would be better financially for an Exelon-NRG company to expand the Matagorda site and back off the Victoria project.

Either way, Exelon would still have the financial backing to build any new reactor and an acquisition of NRG could create a more financially powerful energy entity, the company says.

Exelon offered NRG 0.485 Exelon shares for each NRG share, roughly $5 billion to $6 billion depending on the stock price. NRG rejected that offer on Nov. 9. Two days later, Exelon sent the offer straight to NRG shareholders, who have until Jan. 6 to respond.

"Whether or not we acquire NRG is not going to be a deciding factor in whether we build a plant," Nesbit said. "A plant is built because the power is needed."

The primary consideration for building two reactors on 11,500 acres in Victoria County would be federal loan guarantees, he said. Without a guarantee to back a loan, interest rates would be too high because of the risk of building a new, never-before-built Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor, which is currently in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission review process.

The guarantee would be like federal backing for student loans.

Seventeen power companies submitted 19 applications to the Department of Energy for federal loan guarantees to build 21 reactors. The total amount requested was $122 billion, but only $18.5 million is available.

That compares to $180 billion in student loan guarantees as of June 30.

"If you can't finance the project, you can't build," Nesbit said.

A combined Exelon-NRG company would offer lower risk for both investors and lending companies, he said. Such a company could leverage its size to get better deals on materials and reduce costs through management efficiency.

Right now, it's hard to finance such large projects in the capital markets, said Caren Byrd, executive director at Morgan Stanley, adding that people on Wall Street question whether new nuclear projects will happen at all.

"I think it will depend on economies and load growth," Byrd said, about proposed reactors getting built. "When demand supports new generation, we feel very strongly nuclear should be one of the options."

NRG spokesmen deferred comment on the acquisition to its Nov. 9 letter to Exelon.

NRG President and Chief Executive Officer David Crane questioned why shareholders would want to contribute 30 percent of a combined company cash flow while only owning 17 percent of it. He said via the letter that Exelon failed to account for transaction costs and refinancing NRG debt in the "current credit environment."

The STP site, which has earned more honors than any nuclear plant in the nation, would expand using a low-risk, already proven Advanced Boiling Water Reactor design, he said via the letter.

He also expressed concern that Exelon would capital-starve NRG's growth prospects and that Exelon's growth prospects rely too heavily on climate change legislation.

But regulatory concerns may restrict how much one power company can build in Texas.

State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio questioned if a combined Exelon-NRG company would control more than 20 percent of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas grid. CPS Energy in San Antonio owns 40 percent of STP's Units 1 and 2.

She said she hopes the regulatory process would not interfere with STP expansion.

"Right now, we're in limbo," she said about federal review. "I just want to make sure anything we do here doesn't lose our place. It's a very competitive process."

State Sen. Glenn Hegar, whose district includes Victoria and Matagorda counties, doesn't think the STP expansion timeline would be affected because the nuclear regulatory process already has a lengthy timeline.

"I don't see this potential purchase is going to end up impacting either project," Hegar said.

The law currently states that no one company can control more than 20 percent of the grid, said Terry Hadley, spokesman for the Public Utility Commission of Texas. The commission would have to go through a process to determine if such a company would exceed the threshold.

With concerns about exceeding that threshold and the issue of enough water in Victoria, John Figer of Texans for a Sound Energy Policy Alliance said he thinks it makes more sense for a combined company to expand STP. That site already has the infrastructure such as power lines and towers.

"I would have to imagine it would be a whole lot more economical of them to buy out NRG and back off the Victoria site," Figer said, but he knows they've already invested considerable money in Victoria.

"We won't exceed the 20 percent," Nesbit said. Exelon has a plan in place to sell off generating assets to prevent that from happening.

What residents need to understand is the size of the market and electric grid 15 years in the future will affect what percentage any company controls, Nesbit said.

Nuclear Energy for Texans thinks regulatory issues are an issue for the companies and state to work out, but says growth of nuclear looks promising under President-elect Barack Obama.

"We're not shrinking in population," said Robert Black, NET spokesman. "We're going to have to continue building."