A debate over the rising cost of building a nuclear plant in Georgia will be delayed for years, as the members of Georgia's Public Service Commission have voted to defer a decision over whether to raise the budget for building two more reactors at Plant Vogtle (VOH'-gohl) until January 2018 at the earliest.
Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power earlier asked to raise its construction budget by $737 million to $6.85 billion. Under an agreement between the utility and PSC staffers, Georgia Power will not ask for a budget increase until the first reactor comes online. The deal increases some financial risk on Southern Co., but it allows the utility to avoid a politically sensitive budget conflict as it deals with significant cost overruns on a Mississippi project and other matters.