Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle, a slam-dunk 2 weeks ago, now looks like an own-goal

By Jonathan Grant On Twitter: @Brambleman  We may be seeing the Plant Vogtle expansion dying before our eyes. Jacksonville Electric Authority wants out. Georgia’s muncipal electrics and EMCs want Georgia Power’s customers to shoulder cost overruns, of which there will be many. The PSC staff says Vogtle shouldn’t be completed unless shareholders assume the risk. The PSC wants to vote “go” or “no-go” before the end of the year, because cancellation carries $150 million in tax benefits.   Here’s the latest.

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Georgia PSC Staff: It’s not worth it to finish Plant Vogtle

Update: See Democratic PSC candidate John Noel’s response to Staff’s testimony. Update PSC Chairman is pushing for a resolution of Plant Vogtle by year end.  Read Stan Wise letter to Georgia Power By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman The Georgia Public Service Commission Staff filed testimony Friday declaring that it’s uneconomic for Georgia Power to complete Plant Vogtle, the $25-billion-and-counting nuclear plant under construction near Augusta. This is under-oath stuff from utility experts who, unlike the commissioners, are not paid by the company. We should listen to this warning. Unfortunately, commissioners don’t. Ignoring opposing evidence, the five Republican politicians have already signaled they’ll do what Georgia Power wants, which is to finish the plant and make a bunch of money not just despite but due…

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People who learn about Plant Vogtle become “uniformly angry”

  Two Georgia Public Service Commission seats are up for election in 2018. Plant Vogtle will be an issue across the state next year. BACKGROUND: Georgia Power is building out Nuclear Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 despite massive cost overruns (it’s at $25 billion plus), bankruptcies, and mismanagement. Thanks to pro-utility Senate Bill 31 passed in 2009, ratepayers have been forced to pay financing costs (averaging $100 a year per customer) and therefore bearing the risk of construction, although Georgia Power alone will reap the profits. No wonder they want to keep going, right? Hearings are currently underway that will result in a February vote by commissioners, who are elected statewide, on whether to approve continued construction. One of them plans…

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