Georgia Power expects NRC to issue key construction license "with

Georgia Power agrees with an independent construction monitor's findings that the first of two planned nuclear reactors for Plant Vogtle may go past its current schedule and exceed its budget.

The reactors need a key license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission before they can be built. Nuclear engineer William Jacobs, hired as an independent monitor to oversee the project, warned in a recent report that the NRC may not issue that permit until early 2012, a few months later than expected.

"Due to the nature and complexities of this large project ... it is possible" that the project may exceed its current schedule and budget, according to documents filed by Georgia Power late Friday afternoon. The company expects the NRC to issue the license "without an extended delay," the documents said.

Georgia Power is part of a consortium to build two reactors at Vogtle. They are scheduled to open in 2016 and 2017.

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Kristi E Swartz

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