New Construction Milestones at Vogtle

Georgia Power has announced the latest milestones at the Vogtle nuclear expansion, including placement of the four main step-up transformers, each weighing 420,000 pounds, inside the Unit 4 transformer bays located near the unit’s turbine building. These transformers will increase the voltage produced by the turbine generators from 26,000 volts to 500,000 volts before the energy flows to the state’s power grid to serve hundreds of thousands of customers. Teams also completed a significant concrete placement inside the Unit 4 containment vessel.

Targeted Milestones Being Made

Other recent milestones at the site include the placement of the second floor module for the Unit 3 operating deck. This module is part of the steel floor that sits above the In-Containment Refueling Water Storage Tank (IRWST). The IRWST is a 75,300-cubic-foot tank that, once the units are operational, is filled with borated water and is a key safety feature within containment providing automatic, gravity-fed backup cooling for the reactor vessel.

With more than 6,000 construction workers onsite today, the Vogtle nuclear expansion is the largest job-producing project in the state of Georgia. The thousands of workers are onsite everyday continue to focus on safety and productivity with the target in-service dates for the units remaining November 2021 (Unit 3) and November 2022 (Unit 4).

Savings & Benefits for Customers

From the beginning of the Vogtle expansion, Georgia Power has worked with the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) to investigate all available benefits for customers and minimize the impact of the new units on electric bills. The company's 18th Vogtle Construction Monitoring Report noted a revised, lower projected rate impact for customers of 9.8% with approximately half of this impact already in place on bills. This projected rate impact is well below original projections of approximately 12%.

Additionally, $75 in total 2018 bill credits, or $188 million overall, was approved by the Georgia PSC as part of its order to continue construction of Vogtle 3&4 in December 2017. Georgia Power issued the first $25 credit in April and plans to issue the second credit in July.

Follow the progress being made at the project with new photos added to the Plant Vogtle 3 & 4 Online Photo Gallery.