Construction of Vogtle Nuclear Units to Move Forward

All four of the Vogtle 3 & 4 project co-owners have voted to continue construction of the two new nuclear units near Waynesboro, Ga. The news was announced on Sept. 26.

The new units will be the first to be built in the U.S. in more than 30 years and the only new nuclear units currently under construction in America. Unit 3 is expected to come online in November 2021, while Unit 4 is expected to come online in November 2022.

The Vogtle 3 & 4 project co-owners are Georgia Power, a subsidiary of investor-owned Southern Company, Oglethorpe Power, MEAG Power and Dalton Utilities.

“We are all pleased to have reached an agreement and to be moving forward with the construction of Vogtle Units 3 & 4 which is critical to Georgia’s energy future,” said the co-owners. “While there have been and will be challenges throughout this process, we remain committed to a constructive relationship with each other and are focused on reducing project risk and fulfilling our commitment to our customers.”

In connection with the votes to continue construction, all four of the co-owners agreed to finalize and execute definitive agreements to help mitigate financial exposure for each of them.

JEA, MEAG File Lawsuits Over Contract Tied to New Nuclear Units

Florida-based public power utility JEA and the City of Jacksonville, Fla., recently filed a complaint in Florida state court for declaratory judgment regarding a power purchase agreement in place with MEAG Power. The power purchase agreement is tied to the expansion project at Plant Vogtle.

The complaint was filed in the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida on Sept. 11, the same day that MEAG Power filed a breach of contract lawsuit against JEA. MEAG and JEA entered into the power purchase agreement in 2008. The power to be provided under the agreement is to come from the two new Plant Vogtle units.

On Sept. 17, 2018, JEA filed a petition for declaratory order at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission asking FERC to make a number of legal determinations related to the power purchase agreement between JEA and MEAG Power.

Reposted with permission from Public Power Daily