Last remaining nuclear project in U.S. may be canceled by the end of the year
The future of Westinghouse Electric Co.’s AP1000 plant, the fate of the U.S. nuclear industry, and the trajectory of the bankrupt Cranberry-based nuclear firm might come down to what’s good for Georgia electricity customers.
It’s a question that must be weighed by that state’s public service commission this week. The commission’s opinion will determine if the remaining nuclear power plant construction project in the country — two AP1000 units at Plant Vogtle — will meet its premature end, possibly in the next few weeks.
It’s not a direct cancellation vote. The commission, which began hearings Monday, must determine if the costs incurred in the first six months of this year by Georgia Power, a 45 percent owner of the project, are reasonable to recover from electric customers, and if future costs would be as well.
The commission’s staff doesn’t think all of the costs are. In fact, staff members think it’s time that the shareholders of Georgia Power’s parent company, Southern Co., feel some of the pain for Southern’s poor oversight of the Vogtle project, whose price tag ballooned from $14 billion to $27 billion while Westinghouse was in charge of construction.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/powersource/companies/2017/12/11/nuclear-Westinghouse-Georgia-Vogtle-plant-power-South-Carolina/stories/201712110012
Cross-posted in the Environment & Energy Group.
