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As Vogtle tab mounts, regulators delay approval of spending

FILE - In this March 22, 2019 file photo, the cooling towers of the still under construction Plant Vogtle nuclear energy facility are seen in Waynesboro, Ga. Two new reactors at Georgia's Plant Vogtle will cost another billion dollars, with shareholders of the parent company of Georgia Power Co. taking a $460 million loss and other owners absorbing the rest. The news came Thursday, July 29, 2021, as Atlanta-based Southern Co. again admitted what outside experts have been telling regulators for months — its $27 billion-plus project at the complex outside Augusta will take longer and cost more than previously estimated. (Michael Holahan/The Augusta Chronicle via AP, File) FILE - In this March 22, 2019 file photo, the cooling towers of the still under construction Plant Vogtle nuclear energy facility are seen in Waynesboro, Ga. Two new reactors at Georgia's Plant Vogtle will cost another billion dollars, with shareholders of the parent company of Georgia Power Co. taking a $460 million loss and other owners absorbing the rest. The news came Thursday, July 29, 2021, as Atlanta-based Southern Co. again admitted what outside experts have been telling regulators for months — its $27 billion-plus project at the complex outside Augusta will take longer and cost more than previously estimated. (Michael Holahan/The Augusta Chronicle via AP, File)

By JEFF AMY / Associated Press August 18, 2021 3 min read

Shareholders of Georgia Power Co. may be at more risk of shouldering the utility’s share of cost overruns for the two new nuclear reactors being built at Plant Vogtle.

The Georgia Public Service Commission on Tuesday approved an agreement between the unit of Atlanta-based Southern Co. and commission staff that says the commission won’t agree that any expenses above a $7.3 billion cap imposed in 2017 are “reasonable” until the end of the project.

“Since the company has exceeded the approved revised capital cost of $7.3 billion, it is no longer appropriate for the commission to verify and approve the dollars invested in the project,” states the agreement approved by all five commissioners.

That’s a change from previously, when commissioners were reviewing and approving expenses every six months, giving Georgia Power some legal assurance that it could get charge ratepayers for the costs after the reactors went into service. Most of the approved spending is still subject to later review as to whether it was prudent.

The last set of expenses to be verified was the $670 million that the company spent from July 1 through Dec. 30 of last year, which commissioners approved Tuesday. From now on, Georgia Power will continue to present expenses every six months for commission review, without the commission verifying them.