Georgia Energy Co. has once more delayed the projected startup for 2 new items at its Vogtle nuclear energy plant close to Augusta, saying its share of the prices will rise by an extra $200 million.
Southern Co., the utility’s Atlanta-based father or mother, introduced the delays and better prices on Thursday because it introduced its yearly company earnings for 2022.
Georgia Energy says Unit 3 may now start business operation in Might or June, pushing again from the newest deadline of the top of April. The corporate additionally now says Unit 4 will start business operation someday between this November and March 2024. The corporate beforehand has promised business operation of Unit 4 by the top of 2023 on the newest. When full, the 2 items would be the first solely new U.S. reactors in a long time.
Georgia Energy wrote off $201 million in extra prices on its incomes assertion, reflecting elevated prices.
Regardless of the Vogtle delays, Southern Co. nonetheless introduced robust income and income. The corporate reported income of $3.5 billion for the yr, or $3.28 per share.
The overall value of the undertaking to construct a 3rd and fourth reactor at Vogtle will value all its house owners greater than $30 billion. Georgia Energy owns 45.7% of the undertaking, whereas Oglethorpe Energy Corp. owns 30%, the Municipal Electrical Authority of Georgia owns 22.7% and town of Dalton owns 1.6%.
Georgia Energy had already pushed again the startup of Unit 3 by a month after it found {that a} pipe that’s a part of a crucial backup cooling system was vibrating throughout startup testing. Development staff had failed to put in helps known as for on blueprints. These helps have now been put in, the corporate stated Thursday, however Southern Co. Chairman and CEO Tom Fanning informed buyers that “we discovered a number of extra points to handle.”
“We’ll proceed to take the time to get it proper and won’t sacrifice security or high quality to satisfy the schedule,” Fanning informed buyers on a convention name Thursday.
Fanning informed buyers that different points inflicting delays included a slowly dripping valve that required a now-completed restore, in addition to an issue involving the movement by means of the reactor coolant pumps that hasn’t been pinpointed.
The utility stated the Unit 3 reactor is now more likely to attain a self-sustaining nuclear response, a stage known as criticality, in March or April. That’s the final main waypoint earlier than business operation.
The corporate stated it was additionally pushing again its completion dates for Unit 4, citing slower-than-planned testing.
Georgia Energy says it would now spend a projected $10.6 billion on development prices, not counting some financing prices. That’s projected to incorporate $407 million in prices that Georgia Energy has assumed from the opposite house owners, in spite of everything three sued to power the corporate to honor a cost-sharing settlement. Georgia Energy has settled its lawsuit with MEAG, however the fits with Oglethorpe and Dalton are nonetheless ongoing. The corporate warned it may must pay these two co-owners one other $345 million within the dispute.
Ratepayers at Georgia Energy and a few cooperatives served by Oglethorpe are already paying for Vogtle, and most electrical prospects in Georgia, in addition to in elements of Alabama and Florida, will finally be charged.
The results of the additional delay on ratepayers are unclear. Georgia Energy has signaled it could not request to be repaid for greater than $7.3 billion in capital prices and about $400 million in financing, however may ask for extra. The Georgia Public Service Fee, a five-member elected physique that units charges for Georgia Energy’s 2.7 million prospects, may approve even much less spending. Georgia Energy should show any capital prices above $5.68 billion have been prudently spent.
Some elevated prices shall be handed by means of to municipal utilities served by MEAG. As a result of they dispute that they owe any extra prices for Vogtle, Oglethorpe and Dalton prospects may not see additional will increase due to the delay.
A 3rd and a fourth reactor have been permitted for development at Vogtle by the Georgia Public Service Fee in 2009, and the third reactor was supposed to start out producing energy in 2016. The price of the third and fourth reactors was initially purported to be $14 billion.
Picture: Georgia Energy’s Plant Vogtle nuclear energy plant. (AP Picture/John Bazemore)
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