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The Georgia Public Service Commission approved Tuesday two additional nuclear reactors for Georgia Power. The decision means the utility can begin expanding its Vogtle nuclear plant two years from now, as long as it gets all other needed permits. Customers will also begin paying for the $6.4 billion project then, thanks to a bill the Legislature passed last month. Customers must begin paying financing costs six years before the reactors are done. The Legislature saved the PSC from making a decision on those early charges.

Georgia Power is a private, for-profit company, but with a very valuable distinction: It holds a government-issued, government-protected monopoly. Within its territory, no other company is allowed to sell electricity. It's a sweet arrangement. By barring competition, it effectively guarantees Georgia Power a double-digit profit year after year, even in times as hard as these. Fortunately, drafters of the state Constitution did provide a check on the company's monopoly by creating the state Public Service Commission. The five-member PSC, elected by the people, has a competent, well-trained if sometimes overmatched staff to help it wade through the complex details of utility regulation. That's important, because the decisions made by the PSC affect more Georgians more directly than most decisions made by the state Legislature.

Communities up and down the Savannah River and on both shores could be harmed by the 88 million gallons of water needed each day in running two proposed nuclear reactors near Waynesboro, Ga., an environmentalist group says. Sign up for breaking news alerts from The Chronicle State regulators shouldn't grant a permit for expansion of Plant Vogtle until more study is done, according to the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, a Georgia-based environmental group. The group issued its warning in written testimony it filed recently with the Georgia Public Service Commission, which is considering whether to permit construction of the reactors.

Georgia Power recently got some good and bad news, as it continues its push for new nuclear reactors in the state. The good news: Neither the Georgia Public Service Commission's public interest staff nor the state's biggest industrial customers oppose the new reactors outright. The bad news: Both the PSC staff and the industrial customers slammed the company's proposal to begin charging for the new reactors five years before they're complete.

Georgia Power Co.'s customers shouldn't pay $1.6 billion for two power plants before they're built on the site of Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro, say the public-advocacy staff of the Georgia Public Service Commission. The staff filed its conclusions late Friday in documents with the commission. A spokeswoman for the company said its executives would have no comment until they have had more of a chance to review those documents.

Expanding the nuclear generating capacity of Georgia Power Co.'s Plant Vogtle would let electric utilities meet the needs of a rapidly growing state without worsening global warming, the project's supporters said Monday. But opponents said building two more nuclear reactors at the plant near Augusta would drive up costs for Georgia Power customers and drain already fragile water supplies.

The Republic of Georgia is one of the primary routes for the smuggling of nuclear materials out of the former Soviet Bloc. The U.S. has spent millions training and equipping the Georgian government to thwart nuclear trafficking. The recent Russian invasion has set this effort back significantly.

President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday that Russia must upgrade its nuclear deterrent and fully supply the Armed Forces with modern weaponry by 2020. He said Russia would make the modernization of its nuclear deterrent and Armed Forces a priority in light of the recent military conflict with Georgia. Moscow launched a five-day military operation "to force Georgia to peace" in response to an attack by Georgian forces on South Ossetia on August 8.

Russia should be temporarily kicked out of the Group of Eight and denied entry into the World Trade Organization as punishment for its actions in Georgia, Sen. Joe Lieberman said Thursday. Lieberman spoke in Warsaw after visiting Georgia alongside fellow senator Lindsey Graham, a trip they described as a mission of solidarity with the U.S. ally. They were representing the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Georgia Power and its utility partners Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, Oglethorpe Power and Dalton Utilities are headed toward a nuclear relapse, betting billions of ratepayer and taxpayer dollars on nuclear power when the dollar is down, when filling up the gas tank is painful, when droughts have become the norm, and when the threat of climate change cannot be ignored.

Southern Nuclear Operating Company, Inc., Georgia Power Company, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia; City of Dalton, GA [Docket Nos. 50-321 and 50-366 ] Notice of Consideration of Issuance of Amendment To Facility Operating License, Proposed No Significant Hazards Consideration Determination, and Opportunity for a Hearing

Georgia lawmakers weigh similar bill this week As Georgia lawmakers push forward with a nuclear financing bill this week, their counterparts in Florida are scrambling to undo a similar measure approved three years ago. In the past two weeks, Florida Republicans, including the state Senate president pro tem, drafted two bills aimed at a 2006 law requiring power customers to pay early for new nuclear reactors. The bills are a reaction to public outrage, after those nuclear fees had an unexpectedly expensive and politically disastrous debut this winter. One power company's customers saw already spiking bills go up an extra 11 percent due to the nuclear fee.

Georgia, like other states in the Southeast, remains in growth mode despite the recession. Over the past decade, the state's population has swelled by more than 1.7 million, and it is projected to grow by another 1.2 million people over the coming decade. That means greater demand for energy. My nearly 40 years as an environmentalist have shown me that finding cost-effective and environmentally responsible energy sources is challenging. The demand for electricity to meet the needs of our growing population and to power our increasingly digital and connected economy continues to rise. At the same time, high demand for commodities such as steel and cement is driving up costs for building our electric infrastructure. To meet this challenge, Georgia needs to explore all energy alternatives - especially carbon-free nuclear power.

The House easily passed a bill Thursday allowing Georgia Power Co. to charge customer early for additional nuclear reactors, sending the controversial measure on to Gov. Sonny Perdue for a signature. Senate Bill 31 jumped ahead of the state budget and a line of 585 pending House bills to get the top spot on the House's agenda, despite fierce attacks from groups ranging from AARP to conservative bloggers. House members weren't allowed to offer amendments. Opponents credited SB 31's favored status to Georgia Power's clout and to backers' race to outrun a growing list of questions about the bill.

State utility regulators vote Tuesday on whether to give Georgia Power the go-ahead on two new reactors at the company's Vogtle nuclear plant. The company plans to begin constructing the reactors in 2011 if it gets approval from the Georgia Public Service Commission and other federal and state agencies. The company reached an agreement with the PSC's public interest staff on all but two issues related to those reactors. The first is how to implement an early funding mechanism approved by the Legislature late last month. The second is an incentive mechanism, which would tie a small part of the utility's profits to its ability to bring the $6.4 billion project in close to budget.

Southern Nuclear has secured a necessary federal permit to allow it to build two new nuclear reactors at Georgia Power's Plant Vogtle facility in Waynesboro, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday. The permit, called an early-site permit, means federal regulators have reviewed safety and environmental issues related to building two additional reactors at the site. It also lets Georgia Power do some preliminary construction work. The permit is good for 20 years.

Southern Co., the biggest U.S. power producer, is seeking permission from the federal government to build two additional nuclear reactors and almost double output at its Vogtle site in Georgia. The company is proposing to add two 1,150-megawatt reactors to the two-unit site about 20 miles south of Augusta. Atlanta-based Southern's application was the first of two submitted Monday to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. South Carolina-based SCANA Corp. said it also filed an application. "We expect demand for electricity in the Southeast, specifically in Georgia, to increase significantly by 2015 and beyond," Barnie Beasley, president of Southern's nuclear unit, said in a statement. "Nuclear power is a safe, reliable, cost-effective power source that has a low impact on the environment."

Congress was in session Friday at Savannah River Site. All four U.S. senators from South Carolina and Georgia were on hand for a tour of the nuclear power facility. "I think we're making history today," said Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. "This is the first time all four senators from South Carolina and Georgia have been on site at the same time." Graham was joined by Jim DeMint, R-S.C., Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga. All four senators left the facility impressed by what they saw, each praising the virtues of SRS. "It's a national treasure," Graham said. "It's so well built it can survive the visit of all of these senators."

Two months after it roared through the state Legislature, a bill requiring Georgia Power customers to pay early for new nuclear reactors is still awaiting Gov. Sonny Perdue's signature. The governor's office has indicated that he intends to sign it. Recent headlines: * New Georgia medical school faces hurdle * Sugar factory says whistleblower faked explosion warning * 'Zero' chance of a comeback for Cathy Cox * Metro and state news Meanwhile, though, the bill has become the target of a lawsuit by the Fulton County Taxpayers' Foundation, the same group that sued over the Beltline.

"President Obama's commitment for federal loans for two advanced plants in Georgia is an important step for clean energy and a revitalized economy. President Obama's announcement that the federal government would guarantee loans for two advanced-design nuclear plants in Georgia was good news. The commitment jump-starts the U.S. nuclear energy industry at a time when we have begun to understand that nuclear energy has a substantial role to play in combating climate change and supplying power. More important for the near term, the administration is putting nuclear energy at the center of its push to revitalize the economy."