ATLANTA (AP) Public watchdogs are giving Southern Co. a between-the-lines warning that building a multibillion-dollar nuclear plant in Georgia without a detailed construction schedule could trigger financial penalties. <br />
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That warning came in a report filed by a nuclear engineer and an analyst who work for state regulators and monitor the construction of two new reactors at Plant Vogtle in eastern Georgia. <br />
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The Public Service Commission has warned for at least two years that Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power is relying on an outdated project schedule that contains almost no detail after December 2015, even though construction will continue for several more years. <br />
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Nuclear engineer William Jacobs Jr. and financial analyst Steven Roetger said building a complex, first-of-its-kind project without a schedule was unreasonable. <br />
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``In fact it runs counter to any prudent project management, nuclear or otherwise,'' goes against the project's construction agreement and an industry group's own recommendations for construction, Jacobs and Roetger wrote in a semi-annual report. <br />
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That keyword ``prudent'' was meant to catch the ears of Southern Co. executives. <br />
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By law, the Public Service Commission can prevent Georgia Power, a regulated monopoly, from billing its customers for any construction costs the commission decides are the result of ``imprudence.'' <br />
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The state's elected utility regulators have agreed to delay any final decisions on construction costs until after the first reactor is finished, likely in late 2017 at the earliest. However, the latest filing shows the commission's staffers are laying the legal groundwork that could be used in future arguments to prevent customers from paying some of Georgia Power's costs. <br />
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Georgia Power spokesman Brian Green said utility regulators have not objected to any construction costs so far. Regulators say utility executives are negotiating with Westinghouse Electric Co. and Chicago Bridge and Iron Co. to obtain a firm construction schedule and completion date. <br />
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``We feel like we're showing we're executing the project in a prudent way,'' Green said. <br />
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Three nuclear plants are under construction in the United States. Plant Vogtle in Georgia and the V.C. Summer nuclear plant in South Carolina use the same design and builders. In October, the owners of the South Carolina plant announced they faced more than $1 billion in potential costs. Meanwhile, the Tennessee Valley Authority is finishing a reactor at its Watts Bar plant in Tennessee that had been mothballed for years. <br />
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Georgia Power owns a 46 percent stake in the new plant. It estimates it will spend $6.7 billion for its share of construction, an increase of $591 million over the original state-approved budget. However, if the two reactors cannot be finished by the end of 2017 and 2018 as planned, costs will rise. <br />
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Georgia Power's budget estimate does not reflect the potential costs of resolving a roughly $1 billion lawsuit between the plant's builders and its owners over previous delays and design changes. While Georgia Power has denied any responsibility for those extra costs, company leaders have said they would consider a settlement if it made financial sense. <br />
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