The Georgia Public Service Commission is one day away from some kind of deal on Plant Vogtle’s completion. Meanwhile, Congress has put off dealing with nuclear tax credits, which Southern Company desperately needs, until next year. Heavily redacted emails show lobbyists pitching completion of Plant Vogtle as a “national security issue”—although many would argue that nuclear plants make great targets for terrorists.
Then there’s this: The PSC staff—not a big fan of Vogtle completion–weighs in with harsh criticism of Georgia Power. EnergyWire reporter Kristi E. Swartzwrites:
ATLANTA — The Georgia Public Service Commission staff attacked Georgia Power Co. for its role in what is now two half-built nuclear reactors that are billions of dollars over budget.
In a brief filed with the PSC, the staff said Georgia Power bears responsibility for the failures of Westinghouse Electric Co., which went bankrupt in March, and customers should not be paying for those mistakes. What’s more, staff accuses Georgia Power of using a flawed analysis to make its 45.7 percent share of the Plant Vogtle expansion project appear more economic than it is.
In reality, staff says, walking away from the twin reactors and building a natural gas plant from scratch would be cheaper at $8.9 billion.
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