The owners of Vogtle have extended a vote on whether to continue construction of units 3&4 until Tuesday, after Oglethorpe sought to impose conditions on footing its escalating costs.
Oglethorpe, a not-for-profit that purchases power on behalf of its public power members, said Monday evening that it voted to continue construction if Southern could provide a cost cap or other fiscal protection against additional cost overruns. “Southern Company should be willing to bear further risk of…missed budgets, not our members,” Oglethorpe Chief Executive Mike Smith said.
While Southern supports going ahead with Vogtle, it is unclear if the Atlanta-based utility would agree to the conditions sought by Oglethorpe or seek a different deal
Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, known as MEAG, voted unanimously on Monday to proceed without conditions.
Southern’s Georgia Power unit owns 45.7% of the plant, while Oglethorpe owns 30% and MEAG, 22.7%. Dalton Utilities owns the remaining 1.6%, but it doesn’t have a large enough stake to derail the project.