25 Sep (NucNet): The three owners of the project to build the Vogtle-3 and -4 nuclear plants in the US state of Georgia delayed a vote on whether to continue construction after one sought to impose conditions on how escalating costs are shared.
The three major partners, Southern Company, Oglethorpe Power Corp and the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG), had faced a deadline of Monday to each vote to proceed with work to build the two Westinghouse AP1000 units, the only commercial nuclear power plants being built in the US.
The vote was triggered by a recent disclosure by Southern, the lead partner, that the capital and construction cost forecast for its share of the project had increased from $7.3bn to $8.4bn. The total projected project cost had increased by $2.2bn, reports in the US media said.
Those reports said the total cost had increased to around $27bn, around twice the original estimate. The project is also taking years longer than originally expected.
In August, Southern Company said it would absorb its $1.1bn in additional costs. It said the increased costs were the result of incentives to attract and retain staff, and increased field supervision and engineering oversight, Georgia Power said.
Costs have also increased as the project faced first-of-a-kind design, procurement and construction problems over the past decade. The delays and cost overruns triggered the bankruptcy and reorganisation of main contractor and reactor vendor Westinghouse, which had guaranteed a fixed-price contract for the two Vogtle units.
Oglethorpe, a not-for-profit corporation that buys power on behalf of its public power members, said yesterday that it would vote to continue construction if Southern could provide a cost cap or other fiscal protection against additional cost overruns.
Oglethorpe said it would agree to the recent $2.2bn increase in the projected cost and another $800m to increase the contingency fund. But it said additional costs should be shouldered by Southern and its shareholders.
Press reports said Oglethorpe is expected to vote on the project later this week.
Southern’s Georgia Power unit owns 45.7% of the project, while Oglethorpe owns 30% and MEAG, 22.7%. Dalton Utilities owns the remaining 1.6%, but it does not have a large enough stake to derail the project.
Last year, work stopped on construction of two AP1000 units at the Summer nuclear station in South Carolina, after it, too, encountered billions in cost overruns and years of delays.
