PACE to Georgia PSC: Vogtle Nuclear Units Important to Customers

Later this morning, PACE will deliver the following message to the Georgia Public Service Commission about its support of nuclear power and the completion of two new nuclear units at Plant Vogtle in east Georgia.

In October of this year, PACE wrote about the completion of TVA’s Watts Bar Unit 2 and about the progress of Plant Vogtle, two important nuclear energy projects in the Southeast.

We wrote specifically about an agreement between Georgia PSC staff and Georgia Power Company, telling our readers that the agreement is a positive development as Georgia Power completes two new nuclear units at Vogtle.

We wrote in October –

“[The agreement] puts the new nuclear project on stable footing and helps to ensure that Units 3 and 4 of Vogtle come online as expected, adding another 2,200 megawatts of carbon-free electricity that will be much needed in the future.”

We wrote that two months ago and we are here today to renew the message that this agreement is good for customers and for the future of nuclear power.

Affordable, reliable, and stable electricity is a hallmark of power in the Southeast and specifically in Georgia. Nuclear power is an important part of that mix and will become even more important as we enter a future with more restrictions on carbon emissions. That is why PACE continues to support nuclear power, both existing units and new construction; because nuclear power means stable rates and affordable electricity for families and businesses.

The evidence is clear that nuclear units nationwide have meant billions of dollars in savings to families and businesses. Those units have also played an important role in the decrease of U.S. carbon emissions in past years. And all of this with an incredible safety record without a single fatality.

Our nation needs nuclear power, as does this region. A lower-carbon future requires nuclear power. Nuclear power works. Nuclear power is safe.

In this context, the two new 110-megawatt units under construction at Vogtle are vital. They will increase Georgia’s nuclear power generation by more than 50%. And they will do so for a very long time – likely into the 22nd century.

They will produce power for a region that continues to grow and flourish. A Southeast with more manufacturing that depends on highly reliable, competitively priced power. These two new units will work alongside units in Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, and North Carolina to ensure that electrons flow when businesses need them and when families flip their light switches.

The PSC has an important obligation to look into the future. And with the population of Atlanta growing, and Georgia’s overall power demand growing with it, that obligation includes providing a strong foundation for future electricity generation. We believe that foundation should include the new units at Vogtle.

We concluded in October –

“As we have with other nuclear projects such as TVA’s Watts Bar, PACE fully supports the continued development of Units 3 and 4 at Plant Vogtle. We believe that nuclear power will be an essential part of meeting the region’s power demands in a carbon restrained policy environment. For that reason, we believe that the agreement reached by the Georgia PSC staff and Georgia Power is a positive step forward. If approved by the full commission, it would be a win for the future of nuclear power and a win for Georgia ratepayers…”