FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 29, 2017
Contact: Glenn Carroll, 404-378-4263, 404-432-8727 (cell), atom.girl@nonukesyall.org
ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP CHEERS INCREASING LIKELIHOOD OF VOGTLE CANCELLATION
Nuclear Watch South Statement on Westinghouse Bankruptcy (with Timeline)
3/29/17 ATLANTA: In the wake of Vogtle lead contractor Westinghouse's bankruptcy announcement yesterday, coupled with Toshiba's revelation that it is $9.9 billion in debt from the four reactors under construction in the U.S. (two in Georgia, two in South Carolina), Atlanta-based environmental group Nuclear Watch South is issuing a detailed timeline of Vogtle 3 & 4 milestones and missteps.
Nuclear Watch South Coordinator Glenn Carroll articulated the group's position in a brief statement:
"Georgia's legislators and Public Service Commissioners enabled Georgia Power to obtain $2 billion in up-front charges from its customers which has increased Georgia Power's profit margin by over 20% in the Vogtle construction years.
"Vogtle owners have borrowed another $8.3 billion of U.S. taxpayer money from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). It is unclear how the money can be paid back since it is increasingly likely that Vogtle will not ever be built, but, at a minimum, Georgia Power should not be allowed to keep its windfall profits at the public's expense.
"A full investigation and accounting needs to be done as to where this mind-boggling amount of public money has been spent with so little to show for it as Vogtle is still only 36% finished after six years under construction.
"As the revelations unfold of how breathtakingly out-of-touch several large multinational companies are with their own operations, purchases, and accounting, we are very lucky that these inept actors were unsuccessful in placing their product, two colossally dangerous radioactive waste factories, in the Georgia landscape.
"It is time to stop wasting time, energy and money on Vogtle 3 & 4 which aren't needed anyway. Our renewables future is close at hand. It is time to get on with it."
Points of interest in the timeline:
• Construction stalled until 20 months after the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued the license for Vogtle 3 & 4 in 2012. (NRC stops construction due to improperly installed concrete.)
• 2013, Nuclear Watch South testified in the 8th Vogtle Construction Monitoring Review (VCMR), using data obtained from Georgia Power annual reports, that Vogtle 3 & 4 were not needed because Georgia Power's sales had gone flat for several years and the company was chronically overbuilt. Expert testimony advised that it would be cheaper to mothball construction until the market leveled out, or to cancel the project outright as Georgia Power was legally entitled to recover expenses if a certified plant were to be cancelled. Nuclear Watch South is the only public interest group to submit expert testimony to the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) in the VCMR proceedings.
• Five days later (2013), Westinghouse and Georgia Power went behind closed doors to sue each other. (It would be two years before Westinghouse would go public with their settlement agreement in 2015, setting into motion the dramatic revelations and events of recent weeks.)
• Four weeks after Nuclear Watch South's testimony, November 2013, the first concrete was poured at Vogtle 3 & 4 in November 2013.
• One month after construction starts, December 2013, the NRC finds significant breakdown in Quality Assurance at CB&I
• December 2014, PSC construction monitors testify that it is "imprudent" to proceed without an Integrated Project Schedule (which we still do not have)
• 2016, Nuclear Watch South testifies in the 14th VCMR that Georgia Power is making historic profits on Vogtle construction and it would still be cheaper for consumers to cut losses by cancelling Vogtle construction
CHRONOLOGY OF VOGTLE 3 & 4
2009
February - Georgia legislature passes Georgia Nuclear Energy Financing Act AKA SB31, CWIP (Construction Work in Progress, NCCR (Nuclear Construction Cost Recovery); March - Georgia Public Service Commission approves Vogtle 3 & 4 for $14 billion; April - Georgia Power gives green light to Westinghouse and Shaw (formerly Stone & Webster) to start clearing 40-acre endangered longleaf pine forest; August - NRC issues Early Site Permit; October - NRC demands design revision for AP1000 shield building; December - construction monitors testify in 1st Vogtle Construction Monitoring Review (VCMR) that delays are likely due to NRC revisions
2011
1/1/11 Georgia Power begins charging Nuclear Construction Cost Recovery tariff on small business and residential power bills; 3/11/11 Fukushima earthquake and tsunami cause explosions and meltdowns of Fukushimi Dai-ichi 1, 2 & 3; 8/9/11 Westinghouse AP1000 design receives final NRC approval (note: no post-Fukushima changes are required)
2012
2/9/12 NRC issues Georgia Power combined operating license for Vogtle 3&4; April - NRC stops work due to improper rebar installation; December - reactor vessel nearly falls off train near Port of Savannah
2013
February - CB&I buys Shaw for $3 billion; 2/23/13 Rumor that CB&I will buy Westinghouse; 10/15/13 Nuclear Watch South proves before Georgia PSC that Vogtle is not needed and it would be cheaper to stop construction in the 8th VCMR; 10/20/13 Westinghouse/CB&I & Georgia Power begin litigation; 11/13/13 First concrete poured for Vogtle 3 & 4; December - NRC finds a “significant breakdown in the Quality Assurance Program of CB&I”
2014
Litigation continues between Westinghouse/CB&I and Georgia Power
February - DOE loan guarantees approved; September - Georgia Power reports 5,000 workers at Vogtle 3 & 4; December - PSC monitors testify “imprudent” to proceed without Integrated Project Schedule in the 11th VCMR
2015
Litigation continues between Westinghouse/CB&I and Georgia Power
August - SACE submits to PSC that the total cost of Vogtle to consumers will be $65 billion; October - Westinghouse & Georgia Power settlement on cost overruns; Westinghouse buys CB&I for $229 million; December - Georgia Power blocks Nuclear Watch South testimony about its Vogtle profits in the 13th VCMR
2016
February - GA PSC agrees to unprecedented mid-project prudency review of cost overruns; March - Fluor takes over as Vogtle construction manager; 4/1/16 - Vogtle 3 deadline is missed; 4/16/16 - 5,500 workers on site; 6/30/16 - Nuclear Watch South testifies before PSC that Georgia Power is making historic profits on Vogtle at the expense of Georgia ratepayers in the 14th VCMR; 7/26/16 - CB&I sues Westinghouse over $2 billion closing agreement; 12/20/16 - GA PSC approves $2 billion in cost overruns, boosting Vogtle price-tag to $18 billion; 12/27/16 - Toshiba announces $3 billion write-down for nuclear division
2017
2/14/17 Toshiba announces $6 billion nuclear write-down; 3/9/17 Westinghouse bankruptcy rumors; 3/14/17 Toshiba announces $9 billion nuclear write-down; 3/21/17 Fluor files lien against Georgia Power; 3/28/17 Westinghouse announces bankruptcy, Toshiba announces $9.9 billion nuclear write-down
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References:
Key Georgia Power Financial and Operating Data 2005-2015
http://www.nuclearwatchsouth.org/pdfs/4-16_GPC%20Key%20Fin%20Stats.pdf
Georgia Power Profits 2005-2015
http://nuclearwatchsouth.org/pdfs/Georgia%20Power%20Profits%202005-2015.pdf
Georgia Power Sales Volume 2005-2015
http://nuclearwatchsouth.org/pdfs/GPC%20Sales%20Volume%202005-2015.pdf
Georgia Power Capacity Utilization 2005-2015
http://nuclearwatchsouth.org/pdfs/GPC%20Capacity%20Utilization%202005-2015.pdf
Fluor lien against Georgia Power/Southern Nuclear