Public Service Commission Votes To Continue Vogtle Construction; GA Power To Absorb Substantial Amount Of Cost Overruns
The Georgia Public Service Commission voted today to continue construction of the much delayed Plant Vogtle Nuclear Reactors Units 3 & 4 in Burke County, South of Augusta. The construction of these and other reactors in South Carolina caused their prime contractor, Westinghouse Electric, to seek bankruptcy protection. Toshiba Corporation, Westinghouse’s owner, will have to contribute billions to the project as a result.
The vote by the PSC is contingent on federal loan guarantees being extended, as the new completion timeline is beyond the federal timeframe. Senator Iskason’s office sent the following release indicating that the extension will likely come soon in a cleanup “tax extenders” bill:
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today joined his colleagues on the Senate Finance Committee in introducing a bill to extend a number of tax provisions that expired at the beginning of this year, many of which provide incentives for American energy production. Among the tax provisions is a nuclear tax credit extension that Isakson has championed that would aid nuclear reactors under construction at Plant Vogtle in Georgia.
“I encourage my Senate colleagues to act quickly to prevent tax increases that could hamper America’s energy security,” said Isakson. “In Georgia, keeping the Plant Vogtle nuclear energy project on track will not only strengthen America’s energy security and national security, but it will preserve the more than 6,000 Georgia jobs created by this project. I remain committed to doing whatever I can to ensure that the Plant Vogtle project stays on track for completion.”
As for today’s vote, Georgia Power and other partners will see their returns on investments cut, per the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Under a lengthy motion approved by the state Public Service Commission (PSC), Georgia Power’s return on equity (ROE) for the $25 billion project will be reduced from 10 percent to 8.3 percent effective Jan. 1, 2020, and reduced further to 5.3 percent at the beginning of 2021.
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“[Reducing the ROE] should serve as a powerful incentive to the company to work as fast and as safe as they can to finish this project,” said Commissioner Tim Echols, who drafted the motion.
The PSC’s advisory staff recommended that the commission allow Georgia Power and three utility partners to complete the project only if the company passed on some of the additional costs to shareholders and not try to recover all of the money from customers.
With the South Carolina projects abandoned, Vogtle Units 3 & 4 are the only nuclear power plants planned or under construction in the United States. Thus, the future of nuclear power in America – if there is one – is on the banks of the Savannah River in Georgia.
About Author
Charlie
Founder of GeorgiaPol.com; Now weekly columnist Very interested in Georgia and Georginas. Interest in politics is waning daily.
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I don’t yet know what to make of this. The project needed to be completed but the PSC and the legislature have failed the rate payers in this matter. I hope that both pay consequences in the next round of elections. Speaker Ralston voted against the “give away” to Georgia Power but I encourage every voter to find out how your representative voted on this and make this a single issue litmus test for every state office.
The Ox is in tbe ditch but we all need to understand how it got there!