Plant Vogtle allies spend big to buy Georgia PSC runoff for GOP

Jonathan Grant @Brambleman The latest outrage I was in the middle of writing another post when this comes into my DMs from my buddy, former State Rep. and PSC candidate John Noel, accompanied by appropriate salty language—a link to an AJC article: Pro-nuclear power group pumps $750,000 into Georgia PSC runoff An “independent committee” funded by a nuclear-power industry group is plowing at least $750,000 into next week’s Public Service Commission runoff in support of incumbent utility regulator Chuck Eaton, an advocate of Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle project. The group, which was formed the week after the general election, reported receiving the money from a Washington D.C. group called Nuclear Matters, part of the Nuclear Energy Institute. The committee began running ads…

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Georgia Voter’s Guide: Did your legislator vote to let Georgia Power charge you $100 a year upfront for Plant Vogtle?

Jonathan Grant @Brambleman Go on, scroll down to the list of pro-Vogtle legislators if you want. I don’t blame you. My state senator is on it. That $100 a year fee on your Georgia Power bill is called the Nuclear Construction Cost Recovery Fee. The Georgia Public Service Commission voted recently to lower it by a buck a month, but it wasn’t tightening the leash on Georgia Power, because that’s not how the PSC rolls. The reduction is a result of a lower corporate tax rate and a payback from bankrupt nuclear contractor Toshiba. The money pit Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle: What’s the cost now—$30 billion? The sad truth is that it doesn’t matter, because the cost will go up again. The…

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John Noel: “Christmas comes early for Georgia Power”

Go to John Noel’s tweet to reply or RT. Democratic Georgia PSC candidate John Noel, who’s challenging commissioner Chuck Eaton in in 2018, issued a statement criticizing the decision. noting “Christmas comes early for Georgia Power”: “Georgia Power got what it wanted. This decision to approve continued construction on Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 means even more money will be poured down this bottomless rat hole. The main concern of the PSC and Georgia Power now is how best to put a positive spin on the costly boondoggle. But the people of Georgia are fed up with the long stream of rationalizations and broken promises about Vogtle. It’s time we had Commissioners with the fortitude to place blame where it belongs…

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Democratic candidate speaks out on Georiga PSC’s Okey-doke for Plant Vogtle

Go to John Noel’s tweet to reply or RT. Democratic Georgia PSC candidate John Noel, who’s challenging commissioner Chuck Eaton in in 2018, issued a statement criticizing the decision. noting “Christmas comes early for Georgia Power”: “Georgia Power got what it wanted. This decision to approve continued construction on Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 means even more money will be poured down this bottomless rat hole. The main concern of the PSC and Georgia Power now is how best to put a positive spin on the costly boondoggle. But the people of Georgia are fed up with the long stream of rationalizations and broken promises about Vogtle. It’s time we had Commissioners with the fortitude to place blame where it belongs…

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Georgia Public Service Commission gives go-ahead to Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle

By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman I’ll have more in the hours and days to come, but here’s the gist of today’s Georgia Public Service Commission 5-0 decision to approve continued construction on Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4, with conditions. Watch the one-hour meeting on PSC’s livestream feed. Download a pdf of Tim Echols Motion in Docket 29849  Key rulings: Motion made by Tim Echols, as expected; no cost caps and a lowered return on equity on the Units from 10 percent to 8.3 percent. Original motion called for an 8.7 ROE. Commissioner Lauren McDonald introduced a motion to lower the ROE  further, but his motion died for lack of a second. Georgia Power will pass through bankrupt contractor Toshiba’s settlement payment to ratepayers in…

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Georgia PSC-Vogtle update: All’s hell that ends hell

  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…

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