The three owners of the project to build the Vogtle-3 and -4 nuclear plants in the US state of Georgia delayed a vote on whether to continue construction after one sought to impose conditions on how escalating costs are shared. The three major partners, Southern Company, Oglethorpe Power Corp and the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG), had faced a deadline of Monday to each vote to proceed with work to build the two Westinghouse AP1000 units, the only commercial nuclear power plants being built in the US. The vote was triggered by a recent disclosure by Southern, the lead partner, that the capital and construction cost forecast for its share of the project had increased from $7.3bn to $8.4bn. The total projected project cost had increased by $2.2bn, reports in the US media said. Those reports said the total cost had increased to around $27bn, around twice the original estimate. The project is also taking years longer than originally expected. In August, Southern Company said it would absorb its $1.1bn in additional costs. It said the increased costs were the result of incentives to attract and retain staff, and increased field supervision and engineering oversight, Georgia Power said. Costs have also increased as the project faced first-of-a-kind design, procurement and construction problems over the past decade. The delays and cost overruns triggered the bankruptcy and reorganisation of main contractor and reactor vendor Westinghouse, which had guaranteed a fixed-price contract for the two Vogtle units. Oglethorpe, a not-for-profit corporation that buys power on behalf of its public power members, said yesterday that it would vote to continue construction if Southern could provide a cost cap or other fiscal protection against additional cost overruns.
Nucnet 25th Sept 2018 read more »
The owners of the only remaining nuclear-power plant being built in the U.S. extended a vote on whether to continue construction until Tuesday, after one sought to impose conditions on footing its escalating costs. The three major partners, Southern Co. SO -0.41% , Oglethorpe Power Corp. and the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, had faced a deadline of Monday to each vote to proceed with work to expand the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant. The vote was triggered by a recent disclosure by Southern, the lead partner, that the costs of the project had risen by another $2.2 billion. That raised the total tab to upward of $27 billion, more than twice the original estimate. The project is also taking years longer than originally expected. This last-minute negotiation suggested that continuing work on the half-built nuclear-power plant, while possible, remained uncertain.
Wall Street Journal 24th Sept 2018 read more »
One of the owners of the two nuclear generating units being built at the Vogtle station in Georgia is demanding protection from future cost overruns from the largest owner, Georgia Power, and threatening to veto completion of the project as a deadline for action approaches Tuesday. Oglethorpe Power, a Georgia power cooperative, set conditions Monday night for going forward with the project, saying a cap on future cost overruns was needed to protect its members. Oglethorpe said Georgia Power, which is part of an investor-owned utility, should offer such protection because a related company is managing the project and it is a for-profit company with the most to gain from the project.
S&P Global 25th Sept 2018 read more »
Three of the four owners of the Vogtle nuclear construction project have voted to complete the project. The fourth owner, Oglethorpe Power, is still to vote on whether construction at the Georgia site can continue.
World Nuclear News 25th Sept 2018 read more »