Ga. lawmaker pushes for cost cap on nuclear plant

ATLANTA (AP) A Georgia lawmaker says he wants a cap on how much Southern Co. can charge its customers to build a new nuclear plant.

Republican Rep. Jeff Chapman said Monday that he will submit legislation that would limit how much Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power can charge its customers to build two nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle (VOH'-gohl).

Chapman said he will model the rules after an agreement that Southern Co. subsidiary Mississippi Power reached with regulators in that state. In Mississippi, Southern Co. has absorbed nearly $1 billion in pre-tax losses from building a coal gasification plant

Georgia Power is running about $737 million over its $6.1 billion budget to build the nuclear plant in Georgia.

Chapman found little support in the Legislature for a related bill this year.