OPEN LETTER TO PSC CHAIR JASON SHAW AND GEORGIA POWER CEO KIM GREENE
STOP THE VOGTLE COST OVERRUNS HEARING UNTIL AFTER PSC ELECTIONS
We, the undersigned, respectfully request the Georgia Public Service
Commission delay the upcoming hearings on $7.56 billion in construction
cost overruns for Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 until elections have been
held and duly elected commissioners for Public Service Commission (PSC)
Districts 2 and 3 are installed. Currently, hearings are scheduled for
December 4-6 with a final vote on December 19, 2023.
We further request that Georgia Power Company withdraw its Vogtle 3
and 4 Prudency Review application and refile it when commissioners for
Districts 2 and 3 have been elected by Georgia voters and installed in
office.
The PSC elections, originally scheduled for November 8, 2022, were
cancelled last year by a Federal District Court Order ruling that
Georgia is out of compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Now,
more than a year later, the 11th Circuit Court
of Appeals just ruled on this critical election issue but PSC elections have still not been put on the ballot.
MORE THAN SEVEN YEARS OF VOGTLE CONSTRUCTION MISTAKES, DELAYS AND COST OVERRUNS -- WHAT'S THE RUSH?
Vogtle Units 3 and 4 were scheduled to go into service April 1, 2016,
and April 1, 2017, respectively. After multiple delays, Unit 3 went
into operation July 31, 2023, and the commercial operation date for Unit
4 has been pushed back again to the first quarter of 2024. Any
postponement in the hearings and vote on Georgia Power's Vogtle rate
request will have a negligible impact in comparison to the seven years
of repeated delays, construction mistakes and cost overruns.
The Vogtle prudency review pending before the PSC is the largest
single financial decision in Georgia history and will affect all Georgia
electric customers for the next 60 years. The financial impact on
Georgia ratepayers of this approximately $35 billion project (a 24%
increase in electricity rates if Georgia Power's request is granted),
and any proceeding in which two un-elected commissioners participate or
vote unjustifiably jeopardizes the authority and legitimacy of the
Commission's decision.
GEORGIA POWER MADE $17 BILLION IN PROFITS DURING VOGTLE CONSTRUCTION YEARS -- LET GEORGIA POWER PAY FOR ITS OWN MISTAKES!
Georgia Power enjoyed increasingly high profitability during the
troubled Vogtle construction years. We are disappointed by the PSC's
failure to balance Georgia Power profits through equitable rate
adjustments during 14 years of Vogtle 3 and 4 construction. This failure
has resulted in nearly $17 billion in profit (2009-2022) for the
regulated monopoly. In fact, the more the project was delayed and over
budget, the more profits Georgia Power received. These huge earnings
should be used to pay for the Vogtle cost overruns which Georgia Power
seeks to pass on to its customers in the pending rate review.
Delaying the final cost review for Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 is
justified, reasonable, and prudent under the unprecedented circumstances
of two un-elected commissioners occupying PSC seats after their terms
have expired.
To go forward with the Vogtle hearings beginning December 4 and vote
on December 19, prior to the Commission being constituted of duly
elected commissioners, is a disservice to the people of Georgia and
renders any decision by the Commission illegitimate, inappropriate, and
vulnerable to judicial challenge and reversal.
We strongly encourage you to postpone the Vogtle cost overruns
hearings until after the PSC elections. Who pays for Vogtle cost
overruns is the biggest financial decision in Georgia history. It should
not be undermined by these improprieties.
