Plant Vogtle

Plant Vogtle is a nuclear power plant in Georgia. The project involves the construction of two new power-generating units at the facility, Unit 3 and Unit 4. The project was initially expected to cost $14.8 billion, with Unit 3 to be completed in April 2016 and Unit 4 in April 2017 but construction delays have pushed out go-live dates for the units. Unit 3 went into commercial operation on July 31, 2023. 

In 2008, JEA entered into a purchase power agreement (PPA) with one of the project owners, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG Power). Under the agreement, JEA would support a portion of the project’s costs in exchange for receiving power from the units once they were completed. The total cost of the project attributed to JEA in 2008 was $1.4 billion. This amount was not expected to change over the course of the project.

This agreement would provide JEA with a means to diversify its fuel sources. This would ensure JEA is not overly reliant on any one fuel source to provide power to ratepayers across Northeast Florida. In addition, this fuel diversity would help maintain price competitiveness for JEA customers.

In 2008, at the time of the agreement, nuclear power was widely viewed as reliable, economical and environmentally sound. JEA’s decision to support the Plant Vogtle project was part of a larger national trend toward nuclear power. There were dozens of nuclear power plant construction projects in active development during the 2000s. 

However, in the years since the project began, a number of developments have made nuclear power plant construction economically infeasible. With the exception of Plant Vogtle, every nuclear power plant construction project in the United States has been shut down. Even so, its progression has not been as stable or reliant as promised.

Unit 3 is online as of July 31, 2023 and safely generating clean energy for Northeast Florida. Unit 4 is not far behind.

JEA has paid MEAG Power approximately $121 million for the seven-year period beginning in calendar year 2016, solely related to principal payments on Project J debt issued by MEAG. Payments to MEAG for calendar years 2023 through 2043 are currently projected by MEAG to total approximately $4.7 billion per its most recent forecast, as of February 2023.

There are several reasons why the project has experienced delays and cost increases. One of the most impactful developments was when the project’s initial general contractor declared bankruptcy in March 2017. This led to the project owners entering into a new, amended agreement with a new contractor in June 2017.

The new agreement, which was implemented without JEA’s input, is an unlimited cost-plus reimbursement agreement. This means JEA’s liability is no longer capped at a fixed amount. Because of this, JEA’s liability has increased to more than $2.9 billion, an amount that is subject to additional increases in the future.

JEA’s highest priority is to protect the interests of its ratepayers, so it has taken efforts to find a solution that relieves its customers from shouldering the financial burden of this project’s delays and cost increases. 

JEA has made several attempts to protect ratepayers from these ballooning costs, such as securing alternate power arrangements that would save the Plant Vogtle project participants at least $2.5 billion over the next 20 years. However, the project owners did not accept these alternatives and decided to move forward with construction on the new units.

In September 2018, JEA and the City of Jacksonville filed a complaint in the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida for declaratory judgement on the PPA. The complaint seeks to clarify the validity of the amended agreement, which was never approved by the Jacksonville City Council. JEA believes the agreement violates the Constitution of the State of Florida and should be declared “ultra vires,” which means it is void and unenforceable.

JEA also filed a petition for declaratory order with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The petition asks the FERC to recognize the PPA as subject to the commission’s jurisdiction under the Federal Power Act (FPA). If the PPA falls under the scope of the FERC, it will also be subject to the FPA’s just and reasonable standards. JEA believes the agreement fails to meet these standards due to continuing cost increases and completion delays.

The Plant Vogtle project delays and cost increases place an additional burden on customers across Northeast Florida. JEA has and always will seek to provide reliable and safe utilities at the lowest possible cost and will continue to work in the best interest of its customers and the communities it serves.