
Caption: Georgia Power's Plant Vogtle
Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Co. (NYSE:
SO), filed documents with the state of Georgia that said
overruns at the
Plant Vogtle expansion project are now pushing the price
tag to more than $7.5 billion.
The utility is asking the state to certify $1.4 billion in
cost overruns and push the completion date back 18 months,
according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The state
Public Service Commission was going to decide who will pay
for the overruns when construction is completed, but the
recent filing may prompt commissioners to make the decision
sooner, the article said. Southern Co. and engineering,
construction and procurement contractors Chicago Bridge &
Iron (CB&I, NYSE: CBI) and Westinghouse Electric are in
court battling over whom is responsible for previous cost
overruns for the project.
The PSC must determine if the additional costs are “prudent”
or “imprudent.” If they are prudent or necessary, then
customers may have to foot the bill. If they are found to be
imprudent or unnecessary, then the companies will have to
pay. Commissioners had agreed not to certify the decision
until the first of the two Westinghouse AP1000 reactors was
completed, which is now scheduled for 2019. The second unit
is scheduled for completion in mid-2020. Initially, the
reactors were supposed to cost $6.1 billion and be completed
in 2016 and 2017.
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http://www.power-eng.com/articles/2015/03/plant-vogtle-nuclear-reactors-expected-to-cost-7-5bn.html