Southern Co.: schedule slips on building new Ga. nuclear plant (Vogtle) [View all]

[FBaggins]

$400M in disputed costs

The timeline for building a first-of-its-kind nuclear plant in Georgia has slipped seven months, while the Southern Co. faces a dispute over who should pay for $400 million in unanticipated costs, utility executives said Wednesday.

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The companies designing and building the power plant — The Shaw Group Inc. and Westinghouse Electric Co. — want Georgia Power to pay an additional $400 million to cover increased costs blamed on design changes and delays, according to the utility's financial filings. So far, spending on the project remains $28 million under budget, although those estimates from Georgia Power do not account for the potential cost of the disputes with its business partners.

The utility has not accepted responsibility for the extra costs and says the companies designing and building the plant could be responsible for paying all or some of the extra bills, not its electric customers. Under questioning by a commission lawyer, McKinney acknowledged the project may cost more than expected unless the current situation changes. "I can't say that it's highly likely that the cost would be able to maintain, you know, the current projections without some kind of potential adjustment if those cost pressures continue to mount," he said.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/2fb43253645f49fdb565e395ff65476a/GA--Nuclear-Costs/