Georgia Power commits to new reactors at Vogtle
By Anne Marie Kyzer annemariek@thetruecitizen.com

It's finally official.

Georgia Power has decided to build two new nuclear reactors at Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, according to company spokesperson Carol Boatright. The company signed a contract yesterday for construction of the additional units.

Although Southern Nuclear Operating Company, which runs Plant Vogtle, still awaits approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC), this marks the first definitive statement regarding plans to build if given the go-ahead.

Construction would begin in 2012 and bring the first unit on line in 2016 and the second in 2017.

Southern Nuclear submitted an Early Site Permit (ESP) application to the NRC in 2006 and a Construction and Operating License (COL) application last month.

Approval of the ESP means Plant Vogtle is a good site, and the COL grants Southern Nuclear permission to build and begin operation. The NRC's decision on the ESP is expected by next year and on the COL by 2011.

For months, Southern Nuclear has been negotiating with Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, on, among other factors, cost. Westinghouse and another company, The Shaw Group Inc.'s Power Group, will engineer and construct the new units.

Their negotiations were accelerated by a PSC deadline, which required Georgia Power to submit its plan for satisfying future power needs by May 1. The PSC will decide if Georgia Power or another power producer would best meet demand for electricity in years to come.

Georgia Power president and CEO Mike Garrett said the company chose nuclear power for its plan because of "tremendous price volatility with natural gas and coal" and cited a need to balance the company's portfolio with other fuel sources.

The PSC's selection of Georgia Power's plan would mean approval of the new reactors. The PSC's final decision is expected in March of next year.

Plant Vogtle is jointly owned by Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power, Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG Power) and Dalton Utilities.

Each of the new units would generate approximately 1,100 megawatts of electricity to be used by the joint owners of Plant Vogtle.

WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

NRC APPROVAL:

Since the NRC began using a new approval process for nuclear plants, the NRC has not denied any ESP applications to date, according to NRC spokesperson Roger Hannah. Three have been approved. None of the nine COL applications currently under review are far enough along in the process to be either approved or denied.

PSC APPROVAL:

While the NRC's evaluation is technically driven, the PSC focuses more on economic factors, such as rates.

Power producers, including Georgia Power, will turn in bids for supplying future demand. Georgia Power is expected to be the only one to use nuclear power in their plan, according to Boatright. Others will bid using plans for coal and possibly natural gas plants.

Garrett said Georgia Power officials believe nuclear power is competitive with other generation resources, such as natural gas or coal.

An independent evaluator will make a recommendation to the PSC. The PSC members will then consider the recommendation and make their decision.