New construction milestones reached at Vogtle nuclear expansion
Thousands of workers advancing construction onsite daily; Customer savings and benefits include $188 million in total bill credits; Second $25 credit scheduled for July Georgia Power bills
ATLANTA, May 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Georgia Power announced today the latest milestones at the Vogtle nuclear expansion near Waynesboro, Georgia. Over the past week, workers placed the four main step-up transformers, each weighing 420,000 pounds, inside the Unit 4 transformer bays located near the unit's turbine building. The transformers will increase the voltage produced by the turbine generators from 26,000 volts to 500,000 volts before the energy flows to the state's power grid to serve hundreds of thousands of customers. Teams also completed a significant concrete placement inside the Unit 4 containment vessel, clearing the path for installation of the first floor module for the unit, CA32.
Other recent milestones at the site include the placement of the second floor module for the Unit 3 operating deck, CA56. This module is part of the steel floor that sits above the In-Containment Refueling Water Storage Tank (IRWST). The IRWST is a 75,300-cubic-foot tank that, once the units are operational, is filled with borated water and is a key safety feature within containment providing automatic, gravity-fed backup cooling for the reactor vessel.
With more than 6,000 construction workers onsite today, the Vogtle nuclear expansion is the largest job-producing project in the state of Georgia. The thousands of workers onsite every day continue to focus on safety and productivity with the target in-service dates for the units remaining November 2021 (Unit 3) and November 2022 (Unit 4), according to the 18th Vogtle Construction Monitoring (VCM) Report.
Savings & Benefits for Customers
From the beginning of the Vogtle expansion, Georgia Power has worked with the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) to pursue all available benefits for customers and minimize the impact of the new units on electric bills. The company's 18th Vogtle Construction Monitoring Report noted a revised, lower projected rate impact for customers of 9.8 percent with approximately half of this impact already in place on bills. This projected rate impact is well below original projections of approximately 12 percent thanks to new federal tax laws, anticipated customer benefits from federal production tax credits, interest savings from loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and the fuel savings of nuclear energy.
Additionally, $75 in total 2018 bill credits, or $188 million overall, were approved by the Georgia PSC as part of its order to continue construction of Vogtle 3&4 in December 2017. Georgia Power issued the first $25 credit in April and plans to issue the second credit in July. The credits are a direct result of parent guarantee payments for the project from Toshiba available due to the strength of the original contract for the project and protections in place for Georgia electric customers. Click here to read more.
Follow the progress being made at the project with new photos added to the Plant Vogtle 3 & 4 Online Photo Gallery.
About Georgia Power
Georgia Power is the largest electric subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), America's premier energy company. Value, Reliability, Customer Service and Stewardship are the cornerstones of the company's promise to 2.5 million customers in all but four of Georgia's 159 counties. Committed to delivering clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy at rates below the national average, Georgia Power maintains a diverse, innovative generation mix that includes nuclear, coal and natural gas, as well as renewables such as solar, hydroelectric and wind. Georgia Power focuses on delivering world-class service to its customers every day and the company is consistently recognized by J.D. Power and Associates as an industry leader in customer satisfaction. For more information, visit www.GeorgiaPower.com and connect with the company on Facebook (Facebook.com/GeorgiaPower), Twitter (Twitter.com/GeorgiaPower) and Instagram (Instagram.com/ga_power).
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information contained in this communication is forward-looking information based on current expectations and plans that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking information includes, among other things, statements concerning expected customer rate impacts, expected cost savings and customer benefits and other future actions related to Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4. Georgia Power cautions that there are certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information that has been provided. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which is not a guarantee of future performance and is subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of Georgia Power; accordingly, there can be no assurance that such suggested results will be realized. The following factors, in addition to those discussed in Georgia Power's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, and subsequent securities filings, could cause actual results to differ materially from management expectations as suggested by such forward-looking information: the impact of any failure to amend the DOE loan guarantee to allow for additional borrowings; state and federal rate regulations and the impact of pending and future rate cases and negotiations; the impact of recent and future federal and state regulatory changes, as well as changes in application of existing laws and regulations; the uncertainty surrounding the federal tax reform legislation, including implementing regulations and Internal Revenue Service interpretations, actions that may be taken in response by regulatory authorities, and its impact, if any, on the credit ratings of Georgia Power; current and future litigation or regulatory investigations, proceedings, or inquiries; available sources and costs of fuels; effects of inflation; the ability to control costs and avoid cost overruns during the development construction and operation of facilities, which include the development and construction of generating facilities with designs that have not been previously constructed; the ability to construct facilities in accordance with the requirements of permits and licenses, to satisfy any environmental performance standards and the requirements of tax credits and other incentives, and to integrate facilities into the Southern Company system upon completion of construction; advances in technology; legal proceedings and regulatory approvals and actions related to Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4, including Georgia Public Service Commission approvals and Nuclear Regulatory Commission actions; interest rate fluctuations and financial market conditions and the results of financing efforts; changes in The Southern Company's or Georgia Power's credit ratings, including impacts on interest rates, access to capital markets, and collateral requirements; the impacts of any sovereign financial issues, including impacts on interest rates, access to capital markets, impacts on foreign currency exchange rates, counterparty performance, and the economy in general, as well as potential impacts on the benefits of DOE loan guarantees; and the effect of accounting pronouncements issued periodically by standard setting bodies. Georgia Power expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking information.
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SOURCE Georgia Power
