by Mary Landers
SAVANNAH 4/8/2017: The costs for Georgia Power’s troubled Plant Vogtle are adding up, but not for the utility or its investors.
Instead, ratepayers are already paying for the two new nuclear reactors, both of which may never produce a watt of electricity. How much have customers already dished out? For southside Savannah customer Cornelia Stumpf, the Vogtle bills already total more than $500.
Read the whole story: Savannah Morning News
by Gloria Tatum
(APN) ATLANTA 4/5/17— Westinghouse Electric Corporation, the designer and builder of the AP1000 nuclear reactors under construction in Georgia and South Carolina, has filed for Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy, putting the future of the nuclear power industry in jeopardy.
Clean energy advocates hope this bankruptcy will be a wooden stake in the heart of the so-called “nuclear renaissance” that finally kills it, including the incomplete new reactor units 3 and 4 at Plant Vogtle.
Read the whole story: Atlanta Progressive News
by Matt Kempner
ATLANTA 4/13/16 — What do you call overruns on a project that’s more than three years delayed and at least $1.7 billion over budget?
Reasonable and prudent. At least if you are Georgia Power and you want customers to swallow every penny of the mistakes that would otherwise be the utility monopoly’s responsibility for its adventures in nuclear expansion.
“Every dollar, and every day, that has been invested has been necessary to complete these new units safely and correctly,” Georgia Power CEO Paul Bowers asserted in a recent filing to state regulators.
The company uses the words “prudent” and “reasonable” a lot in the filing because that’s the legal measure of whether the extra costs can be pushed onto customers’ monthly power bills for the company’s troubled Plant Vogtle expansion.
Read the whole article: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
by Gloria Tatum
(APN) ATLANTA 2/17/16 — A pro-consumer bill, HB 931, co-sponsored by State Rep. Karla Drenner (D-Avondale), calls for an end to the Nuclear Construction Cost Recovery (NCCR) surcharge on Georgia Power electric bills after March 2017.
NCCR is a statewide surcharge that all Georgia Power residential and small business electricity customers pay every month.
It is about eight percent of one’s total bill with additional periodic rate increases.
Georgia Power’s two new nuclear reactors, Vogtle 3 and 4, originally were scheduled for completion in 2017, and at that time the surcharge was to expire.
However, Georgia Power is over three years behind schedule, and almost three billion dollars over-budget, with only 26 percent of the construction complete.
Read the whole article: Atlanta Progressive News
by Russell Grantham
ATLANTA 2/9/16 — A trio of Georgia lawmakers want to block Georgia Power from levying surcharges on customers’ bills to finance its long-delayed Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion after 2017.
“Today’s Georgia Power customers stand to pay $1.4 billion more to finance Vogtle construction over the next few years due to major construction delays,” said Rep. Karla Drenner, D-Avondale Estates, sponsor of a bill filed Monday.
In 2009, lawmakers allowed the utility to begin tacking a surcharge on customers’ bills to finance its share of the cost to build two additional nuclear power units at Plant Vogtle near Augusta. The monthly surcharges add about $81 to the typical residential customer’s annual utility bill.
Read the whole article: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BUTLER 6/24/15 — 
Southern Power bought the 20-megawatt Butler Solar Farm from Strata Solar, bringing its total solar generation development in the Peach State to more than 400 megawatts.
The unit of Atlanta-based Southern Co. (NYSE: SO) did not disclose financial terms.
The latest acquisition will be on 150 acres in Taylor County, Ga., about one mile from the previously acquired 103-megawatt Butler Solar Facility. The Butler Solar Farm is expected to enter commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2015. It will use more than 263,000 of First Solar Inc.’s thin-film photovoltaic solar modules.
Read the whole article: Atlanta Business Chronicle
by Walter C. Jones
ATLANTA 1/13/15 — Georgia homeowners, churches and small businesses might soon have access to the financing needed to install solar panels with little upfront costs thanks to an agreement announced Tuesday during a state legislative hearing.
Coming up with thousands of dollars needed to install photovoltaic panels on the average home is difficult for most homeowners. But if the agreement discussed Tuesday becomes law, homeowners could lease their roofs to companies that pay them back with free electricity while selling the rest to the utilities.
Read the whole article: Athens Banner-Herald
by Matt Kempner
ATLANTA 1/13/15 — New legislation backed by power companies and solar advocates promises to make it easier and more affordable for Georgia homeowners and small businesses to put solar power systems on their rooftops.
At least that’s the hope with a bill unveiled Tuesday before a state house subcommittee. State Rep. Mike Dudgeon, R-Johns Creek, said he would submit the bill Wednesday. It clarifies how homeowners can get outside financing of small solar installations.
Solar advocates say one key to home systems is to make it easier to finance installation and equipment, which can cost $15,000 or more.
Read the whole article: Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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
by Dave Williams
ATLANTA 1/28/14 — Georgia property owners would be able to contract directly with solar energy installers to finance the installation of solar panels under legislation introduced in the General Assembly Tuesday.
The bill would let property owners lease solar panels instead of having to buy them with cash up front, said Georgia Rep. Mike Dudgeon, R-Johns Creek, the bill’s sponsor.
“We want to make it clear that you can use whatever financing is available to finance your solar panel,” Dudgeon said.
Previous attempts by other lawmakers to grow Georgia’s solar industry by opening the market to third party financing have failed to gain headway in the General Assembly.
Read the whole article: Atlanta Business Chronicle