Georgia PSC chairman says Vogtle in “in a better position to move forward” than recently cancelled Plant Summer project

In a recent statement, Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) Chairman Stan Wise emphasized the differences between the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion project in Burke County, Georgia and the South Carolina Plant Summer project, which was recently cancelled.

Because of these differences, Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle project “may be in a better position to move forward” than the Plant Summer project, Wise said.

Wise also announced his intent to ask the PSC, its staff, and Georgia Power to develop a schedule that

results in a decision by the end of the year on whether the project will move forward and, if the project continues, to approve changes to the schedule and cost.

“The dissimilarities of these projects should be recognized before making any suppositions on whether construction will continue at Plant Vogtle based on decisions made in South Carolina,” Wise said in the statement.

Santee Cooper and SCANA Corp. in July announced their intent to abandon their expansion plans for the Summer Plant in South Carolina. Problems with Westinghouse Electric’s AP1000 reactor design contributed to significant cost overruns, leading to the cancellation of the project. These design problems led Westinghouse, the project’s construction contractor, to file for bankruptcy.

That decision left Plant Vogtle as the only nuclear plant under construction in the United States. The plant, however, has been experiencing similar reactor design and cost overrun problems.

While Wise recognized that the $100 million currently spent each month on the project poses a risk to ratepayers, he listed four factors that he said separate the current project from the one that was recently cancelled.

Wise noted that the rate impact of the Georgia project will be spread over three times as many customers as the South Carolina project, and the rate impact has so far been only 5 percent compared to Plant Summer’s 18 percent.

Toshiba, the parent company of Westinghouse, also offered $3.7 billion as a parental guarantee for the Plant Vogtle expansion, while it offered just $2.2 billion for the Summer expansion. This gives Plant Vogtle’s owners a better chance of making up the costs caused by Westinghouse’s departure.

Lastly, Wise said, the cost of the Plant Vogtle project is spread across four co-owners, while the South Carolina project had just two.

“These factors suggest the Plant Vogtle project may be in a better position to move forward than the project in South Carolina,” Wise said.