Tag Archives: Georgia Public Service Commission

King: Pilgrims seek spiritual fire

by Joan King
GAINESVILLE 12/16/14 — The Public Service Commission meets today for a semiannual review. I’ll be there. I’m anxious to see what the commissioners have to say about cost overruns at Plant Vogtle, Georgia Power’s nuclear facility near Waynesboro.

Last week, The Times published a front-page story warning that the new construction is over budget and behind schedule. No surprises there. Vogtle’s two original reactors took 20 years to complete and were 1,200 percent over budget by the time they went online.

What is different and interesting is the language used in the latest progress report. Two state regulators, William Jacobs, a nuclear engineer, and Steven Roetger, a financial analyst, said Georgia Power’s lack of a proper production schedule, “…runs counter to any prudent project management, nuclear or otherwise.” Remember that word “prudent.” It may be the key to mothballing the project.

Read the whole article: Gainesville Times

State Inspector Says Vogtle Nuclear Project Will Be Delayed Further

by Jonathan Shapiro
ATLANTA 12/16/14 — The nuclear expansion project at Plant Vogtle near Augusta appears headed for further delay, which could result in higher electric bills for ratepayers.

The state’s independent construction monitor, William Jacobs, said last month he expects the two new reactors to take longer to build than Georgia Power’s current projections.

“(State staff) and (I) believe that the (completion dates) will be further delayed. At this time…it is impossible to determine a reasonable forecast range as to when the (twin reactors) could be commercially available,” testified Jacobs.

Read the whole article: WABE 90.1

Money and power: How much will Georgia Power’s nuclear reactors cost us?

By Joeff Davis
ATLANTA 9/25/14 — Have you glanced at your electric bill lately? Next time it arrives in the mail, give it a closer look.

You might not have noticed, but your monthly bill has increased over the last few years. And it’s not because you are using more energy. It’s because we, the Georgia Power ratepayers, are helping to finance the construction of the utility’s new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle. Located approximately 175 miles southeast of Atlanta, the reactors are the first new ones to be approved in the United States in nearly 30 years.

Though it doesn’t say so on your bill, ratepayers are paying more than they were in 2011. And you’re not using a kilowatt more. When those reactors come online, you might pay even more. Your monthly bill could soar because the project suffers from delays and cost overruns. You’ll be footing the bill without knowing the costs ahead of time. It’ll be sticker shock. For a project that was shoved down our throats, we deserve more transparency.

Read the whole article: Creative Loafing

Ga. agency seeks funding to track nuclear costs

by Ray Henry
ATLANTA (AP) 1/25/14 — Badly outnumbered regulators in Georgia want to hire two more employees to keep tabs on the $14 billion project to build a first-of-its-kind nuclear plant.

Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power says its share of the project to build Plant Vogtle (VOH’-gohl) is projected to go hundreds of millions of dollars over budget. Its 2.4 million customers will pay for the company’s building costs unless regulators force the utility to take losses on questionable spending.

Now the chairman of the Public Service Commission, Chuck Eaton, is asking state lawmakers for roughly $180,000 to fund two more employees to carefully track utility spending and construction efforts. The information those monitors gather will be crucial if regulators ultimately want to block Georgia Power from billing its customers for at least some of the project’s increasing cost.

Regulators are at a disadvantage when contending with Georgia Power, a monopoly that owns a 46 percent stake in the nuclear plant.

Read the whole article: SFGate

Unneeded nuclear plants

by Bob Farquhar
MACON 1/13/14 — Joe Hubbard’s Dec. 24 letter “Citizens pay the cost” brings to mind one profit-enhancing scheme of Southern Company most people are unaware of. CWIP, or Construction Work In Progress, is a fee levied on electric customers to finance the construction costs of two unproven nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro. Georgia Power bills show “Nuclear Construction Cost Recovery” for the 7.6 percent that ratepayers have been forking over since 2009 when the Georgia Legislature and Public Service Commission approved CWIP. So far about $1.5 billion has been collected. CWIP reduces Southern Company’s financial risk for construction, passing it on to ratepayers.

Read the whole article: Macon Telegraph

AARP fires back over Georgia Power rate hike

By Walter C. Jones
ATLANTA 12/2/13 — Georgia Power agreed last month to settle for a smaller rate hike than it had wanted, an agreement that won endorsement by nearly a dozen consumer, environmental and business advocacy groups, but one organization is fighting it.

The retiree-advocacy AARP is airing radio and online commercials and pushing a petition to urge the five members of the Public Service Commission to nix the agreement negotiated by its public-interest staff that slices the rate hike almost in half. Monday, the 1-million-member group reported collecting almost 3,000 signatures.

Its advertisement on WSB-AM in Atlanta points people to a website action.aarp.org/GAutilities where they can voice their opposition to the rate hike still part of the agreement as well as the reduced profit target. Georgia Power is accepting a reduction from 11.15 percent to 10.95, but the ad says that’s higher than the national average for other regulated monopoly utilities.

“In these tough economic times, Georgia families deserve to keep more of their hard-earned money in their pockets – by paying Georgia Power what’s fair and reasonable, and not a dime more,” said AARP spokesman Ed Van Herik.

Read the whole article: Florida Times-Union

Agreement would lower earnings target for Ga Power

by Ray Henry
ATLANTA (AP) 11/18/13 — Georgia Power would accept a lower return on shareholder investments and ditch a proposal to charge special rates for rooftop solar power under a preliminary agreement reached Monday.

The Southern Co. subsidiary reached a tentative deal with Georgia utility regulators to set its rates through 2016. It would reduce the value of the rate increases sought by the utility by more than $500 million over a three-year period, according to regulatory filings. The agreement must still be approved by the elected members of the Public Service Commission, though they typically ratify such deals.

Utility shareholders who invest money in the electrical grid would get a lower return on their investments. The return would drop to 10.95 percent from the current 11.15 percent. Georgia Power originally wanted an 11.5 percent return on its shareholder investments.

Read the whole article: Houston Chronicle

Georgia Power Wants Solar Tax to Recoup Consumers’ Savings

by Gloria Tatum
(APN) ATLANTA 11/18/13 — The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) has finished months of public and expert testimony on Georgia Power’s request for a 482 million dollar rate increase and an increase in the company’s guaranteed profit from 11.15 percent to 11.50 percent.

Georgia Power is also asking for a surcharge of $5.56 per kilowatt on self-generated power from solar panels, plus a solar tariff, on customers who install solar panels after January 01, 2014.

The PSC is expected to consider the requests at its December 17, 2013, administrative session.

If approved, the 482 million dollar rate hike would add nearly eight dollars per month to the average residential bill. The solar tax is another 22 dollars for residential customer and commercial solar systems who add solar after January 01.

According to Georgia Watch, this is on top of Georgia Power increases since 2003 that have added over 44 dollars per month to household electric bills.

Read the whole article: Atlanta Progressive News

Athenians attack proposed Ga. Power rate hike, solar energy tariff

by Nick Coltraine
ATHENS 10/30/13 – A proposed tariff on solar energy generators, Plant Vogtle and an overall price increase proposed by Georgia Power dominated a discussion with Georgia Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols on Wednesday.

The town hall at the University of Georgia Chapel, organized by the Sierra Club and consumer advocates with Georgia Watch, burst into applause after impassioned speeches from attendants about clean energy, climate change and fighting against “King Georgia Power,” as one attendee called the state utility.

Read the whole article: OnLineAthens

Georgia Power rate increase request generates sparks

by Mark Eggers
GAINESVILLE 10/29/13 – Georgia Public Service Commission member Tim Echols addressed the audience Tuesday evening in the Brenau Downtown Center, saying, “There’s really no perfect form of energy out there, even solar has its issues.”

Echols and fellow Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald had traveled from Atlanta to hear the opinions and suggestions of consumers in northeast Georgia at an open town-meeting sponsored by consumer advocacy group Georgia Watch and environmental organization, the Sierra Club.

Tonight’s meeting, being the third of four across the state, was organized because Georgia Power has requested permission to raise their power rates by $478 million at year’s end. They need the Public Service Commission’s consent to do so as the utility operates under the Commission’s aegis. The Commission wants consumer input.

Read the whole article: AccessNorthGA.com

stopcwip.com

Repeal Georgia Nuclear Tax