Plant Vogtle
State regulators, federal inspectors give big headaches to Vogtle owners
Managers of the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion project are having an especially bad month, which is saying something for a long-delayed project billions of dollars over budget. Georgia Power and its parent company, Southern Co. endured a blistering hearing at the Georgia Public Service Commission Thursday, just days after U.S. nuclear regulators launched a review […]
Plant Vogtle monitors predict more nuclear plant expansion delays
Plant Vogtle’s first new nuclear reactor may not start producing energy for Georgia consumers until at least next June, which would be a longer delay than Georgia Power predicted just last month. An independent monitor, Donald Grace, said in written testimony filed this week that the two new reactors at the Waynesboro plant will likely […]
Georgia Power customers to find out new tab for Vogtle expansion this fall
This post was updated at 8:53 a.m. Wednesday to reflect that Georgia Power’s latest schedule to complete the third unit moved from November until the first quarter of 2022. A decade ago, Norcross consultant Steven Prenovitz expressed skepticism about Georgia Power’s ability to contain Plant Vogtle’s expansion costs as the state’s largest electricity provider aimed […]
Southern Co. expects new Plant Vogtle delays as PSC weighs tab
The snakebit Plant Vogtle nuclear reactor expansion project is likely to miss another deadline. The Georgia Public Service Commission will soon decide whether to sign off on the $670 million in construction costs over the final six months of 2020, a tab that could eventually get passed onto customer’s electric bills. Georgia Power recently announced […]
McDonald earns another term as Georgia utility regulator
Lauren “Bubba” McDonald is set to return for another term on the Public Service Commission that regulates how much Georgians pay for electricity and natural gas and shapes the state’s energy policy direction. McDonald became the lone Republican to win Tuesday’s runoff election as the Associated Press declared him the winner over Democrat Daniel Blackman. […]
Billion dollar Plant Vogtle tab debate could be on the line with PSC runoff
Georgia Power’s overdue and over-budget Plant Vogtle nuclear plant expansion served as a handy punching bag for the challenger in a Tuesday debate as he took on a veteran of utility regulation ahead of the state’s Jan. 5 runoff election. Georgia’s twin U.S. Senate contests are consuming most of the country’s political attention now that […]
Lawmakers agree to let utility with Vogtle stake borrow without voter OK
Updated 8 a.m. Thursday A controversial measure that frees a north Georgia municipal utility with a stake in the expansion of Plant Vogtle from holding a public vote before borrowing money for electricity projects is on its way to the governor’s desk. The bill drew opposition from lawmakers from both sides of the aisle who […]
Georgia Power tells PSC 20% of Vogtle workers scaled back
The company overseeing the expansion of Plant Vogtle has scaled back one-fifth of its workforce after an outbreak of COVID-19 spread to 185 workers and left significant numbers of employees afraid to show up for work. The reduction – which took the on-site workforce down from 9,000 to about 7,000 – is likely to cost […]
State regulators approve $1.8 billion Georgia Power rate hike
Georgia Power customers can expect to pay steeper electric bills over the next several years, with some new charges kicking in next month. State regulators approved the increase Tuesday over protests from critics who complained the rate hike will disproportionately harm seniors and low-income workers. Starting next year, residential customers will pay about $71 more […]
Decision day for Georgia Power’s $2.2 billion rate hike request
State regulators are set to vote Tuesday on Georgia Power’s $2.2 billion rate hike request, setting up a final round of haggling several months after the company proposed to charge residential customers $200 more per year for electricity. Georgia Power appears poised to settle for something less than its initial proposal after the Public Service […]
State consultants say Plant Vogtle expansion timeline ‘challenged’
Delays and costs are likely to keep growing for an expansion of Georgia Power’s nuclear plant south of Augusta, according to reports the Georgia Public Service Commission staff filed last Friday. Underway since 2013, the project to build two additional nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle is billions over budget and already three years behind schedule. […]
Georgia Power responds to rate hike objections from PSC staff, customers
Gloria Hayes said at a hearing Monday if regulators allow Georgia Power to increase its rates, seniors like her who live on a fixed-income might be forced to make some tough financial choices. Hayes is among the dozen or so seniors who have attended ongoing Georgia Public Service Commission hearings since September to ask regulators […]