The Latest: After PSC vote, electric rates to rise in 2021
The Latest on the Georgia Public Service meeting about construction of new nuclear generators at a power plant (all times local):
1 p.m.
Officials say Georgia consumers will have to pay more for power, starting in 2021, now that state regulators have voted to let construction continue on two nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle.
Georgia Public Service Commission spokesman Bill Edge said Thursday he's still ascertaining how much that will be. Following the PSC's meeting Thursday, Commissioner Tim Echols estimated rates would rise by 10 percent after the plant is completed. However, Edge says PSC chairman Stan Wise predicted it will be more like 8 percent.
The hike will affect not only Georgia Power customers, but those of the project's other co-owners as well. They include , Oglethorpe Power, MEAG Power and Dalton Utilities.
The PSC agreed Thursday to let construction continue on the two new nuclear reactors, despite massive cost overruns for the multibillion-dollar project.
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12:35 p.m.
Georgia Power is praising the decision to allow construction of a multibillion-dollar nuclear plant to continue in east Georgia.
In a statement, the utility called the Public Service commission's decision on Plant Vogtle important to the energy future of Georgia and the U.S.
In a news release, the utility notes there are new penalties for delays and cost increases in addition to penalties included in a previous agreement with the PSC. It also says shareholders will take a hit, noting they will "see a significant impact" of about $750 million through November 2022. It says the company has agreed to further reductions if the project does not meet the revised deadlines.
The PSC agreed Thursday to let construction continue on the two new nuclear reactors, despite massive cost overruns for the multibillion-dollar project.
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12:25 p.m.
An environmental group is slamming the decision to allow construction of a multi-billion-dollar nuclear plant to continue in east Georgia.
Sierra Club officials said in a statement Thursday that the Georgia Public Service Commission failed consumers by approving Georgia Power's proposal to finish the reactors at Plant Vogtle.
The Georgia chapter's director, Ted Terry, says companies are profiting despite "huge mistakes." He says the project should have been halted, calling it a "disaster."
Terry also says Georgia Power should transition away from fossil fuel-based electric generation and move toward a 100 percent clean energy economy. He says that measure would create jobs.
The PSC agreed Thursday to let construction continue on the two new nuclear reactors, despite massive cost overruns for the multibillion-dollar project.
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10:45 a.m.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal is praising a decision by state utility regulators to let construction proceed on a multi-billion-dollar nuclear plant.
In a statement shortly after Thursday's vote, Deal commended the Georgia Public Service Commission for its "vision and foresight."
The commission's decision comes after massive cost-overruns for the two reactors now under construction at Plant Vogtle near the South Carolina line.
The reactors at Vogtle were the first new ones to be licensed and to begin construction in the U.S. since 1978.
Deal said investing in the project is a worthwhile endeavor, and that it's important that Georgians "stay the course" and the project continues.
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10:25 a.m.
Georgia's utility regulators are allowing construction to continue on two new nuclear reactors, despite massive cost overruns for the multibillion-dollar project.
Thursday's decision by the state's Public Service Commission will shape the future of the nation's nuclear industry, partly because the reactors at Plant Vogtle were the first new ones to be licensed and to begin construction in the U.S. since 1978.
About 100 existing commercial nuclear reactors supply roughly 20 percent of U.S. electricity.
The Georgia project — which includes the two new reactors near the South Carolina border — has been plagued by delays and spiraling costs, compounded when the main contractor filed for bankruptcy. That company, Westinghouse Electric Co., the U.S. nuclear unit of Japan's Toshiba Corp., filed for bankruptcy in March.
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9:30 a.m.
Georgia's utility regulators are meeting Thursday to decide the fate of a $25 billion nuclear power plant, and the outcome could help shape the future of the U.S. nuclear energy industry.
The Public Service Commission is expected to decide whether to allow construction to continue on two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle, despite massive cost-overruns for the project.
The commission's decision is important for the nuclear energy industry, partly because the two reactors now being built there are the first new ones to be licensed and to begin construction in the U.S. since 1978.
The project has been plagued by delays and spiraling costs, compounded when the main contractor filed for bankruptcy. Westinghouse Electric Co., the U.S. nuclear unit of Japan's Toshiba Corp., filed for bankruptcy in March.