The Vogtle generating units being built in Georgia, two of the last major units to be built in the US, has reached a new milestone. The cost of construction is now pegged at twice the original estimate at $28.5 billion. The jump in costs is blamed on contractors failing to adhere to schedule. The price increase has triggered a mechanism requiring Georgia Power to pay a greater share of the financial burden. Georgia Power owns 45.7% of the units under construction. Georgia utility regulation was changed to allow cost overruns to be paid by consumer rate increases. Units 1 & 2, completed in 1987 and 89, cost $8.87 billion to complete. Their original cost estimate was $660 million. [photo credit: Augusta Chronicle/AP]
Critics of the nuclear power industry said the skyrocketing construction costs were predictable even if "outrageous". The $28.5 billion figure does not even include the $3.68 billion Westinghouse had to refund the owners when it went bankrupt in March, 2017 due to loses from nuclear plant construction. When the new units were approved by the Georgia utilities commission in 2012, electric generation was to begin in 2016. Operation dates have been pushed back to Q3 2022 and Q2 2024. Southern Company, managing co-owner has been criticized for setting an unrealistic schedule for such a complex project. Southern has pointed a finger at contractors who it says performed "substandard" work that required correction.
Georgia Power is disputing the opinion of co-owners that the price threshold has been reached for increased contributions. Georgia Public Service Commission approved a $224 million rate increase to pay for construction costs on Unit 3, or a 3% increase for residential customers. Georgia Power's customers have already paid $3.5 billion in Vogtle-related borrowing costs. Too cheap to meter? Only if you are a plutocrat.