Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro, Georgia, stands as the largest nuclear power plant in the United States, with four operating reactors producing 4.6 gigawatts of electricity, enough to supply roughly 2 million homes. With Units 3 and 4 complete, nuclear has become Georgia's single largest source of electricity generation.
The Georgia Public Service Commission has finalized how much of the project's cost customers will carry. The five elected commissioners unanimously approved a plan allowing Georgia Power to recover 7.56 billion dollars of the 10.2 billion dollars the company expects to spend completing the plant. Regulators signed off on a 3.5 percent rate increase that raises the average residential bill by 5.48 dollars per month.
Georgia Power also reached an agreement with regulatory staff to hold base power rates steady through the end of 2028, though customer bills can still move with fuel costs and other adjustments. The two new units increased the utility's capacity by just over 7 percent.
Vogtle serves as a reference point in the national nuclear conversation because it represents the most recently completed large reactor project in the country. Its output performance, cost recovery through the PSC, and contribution to grid reliability continue to shape how utilities and regulators evaluate future large-scale nuclear construction.
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - https://www.ajc.com/news/psc-raises-georgia-power-rates-passing-most-plant-vogtle-expansion-costs-on-to-customers/6BAIOWM7J5BVHFZ2UN27KYXENA/