nuclear-news

Vibrations in cooling system mean new Georgia’s Vogtle nuclear reactor will again be delayed, and costs blow out

Daily Mail, By ASSOCIATED PRESS, 2 Feb 24,

ATLANTA (AP) – Georgia Power Co. said Thursday that vibrations found in a cooling system of its second new nuclear reactor will delay when the unit begins generating power.

Plant Vogtle’s Unit 4 now will not start commercial operation until sometime in the second quarter of 2024, or between April 1 and June 30, the largest subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Co. announced.

The utility said in a filing to investors that the vibrations “were similar in nature” to those experienced during startup testing for Unit 3, which began commercial operations last summer, joining two older reactors that have stood on the site near Augusta for decades………

Georgia Power said it’s likely to lose $30 million in profit for each month beyond March that Unit 4 isn’t running because of an earlier order by state utility regulators. The five members of the Georgia Public Service Commission ordered that the company can’t earn an additional return on equity through a construction surcharge levied on Georgia Power’s 2.7 million customers after March 30.

The typical residential customer has paid about $1,000 in surcharges over time to pay for financing costs.

Georgia Power said it’s likely to lose $30 million in profit for each month beyond March that Unit 4 isn’t running because of an earlier order by state utility regulators. The five members of the Georgia Public Service Commission ordered that the company can’t earn an additional return on equity through a construction surcharge levied on Georgia Power’s 2.7 million customers after March 30.

The typical residential customer has paid about $1,000 in surcharges over time to pay for financing costs…………………………………..

The new Vogtle reactors are currently projected to cost Georgia Power and three other owners $31 billion, according to calulations by The Associated Press. Add in $3.7 billion that original contractor Westinghouse paid Vogtle owners to walk away from construction, and the total nears $35 billion.

The reactors were originally projected to cost $14 billion and be completed by 2017…………..

……even as government officials and some utilities are again looking to nuclear power to alleviate climate change, the cost of Vogtle could discourage utilities from pursuing nuclear power……….https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-13036013/Vibrations-cooling-mean-new-Georgia-nuclear-reactor-delayed.html—

February 3, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA