Georgia nuclear plant may not start up until 2017

ATLANTA (AP) — Contractors building a new nuclear plant in eastern Georgia have indicated the first reactor may be further delayed, potentially pushing back the start of its commercial operation into early to mid-2017, a Southern Co. executive said Tuesday.

The utility has not agreed to that timeline and maintains that contractors can still speed up the construction of two new reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta, said David McKinney, the utility's vice president of nuclear construction support for the new plant. Construction delays have the potential to increase the utility's costs, which are ultimately paid by the roughly 2.4 million customers of Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power.
[link to www.nucpros.com]
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