In case you haven’t had enough April Fool’s jokes today, here’s one more.
The first unit of Georgia Power’s over-budget, long-overdue expansion of its Vogtle nuclear plant originally was supposed to go into operation this month. That allowed an environmental group to make an April Fool’s joke at Georgia Power’s expense.
"We'd like to congratulate Georgia Power for bringing the first of two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle on schedule and on budget. Bah hah hah! Just kidding! April Fool's!" crowed the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy in a Friday post on its Facebook page.
The group went on the say the costly project and delays are “no laughing matter” for Georgia Power’s ratepayers , whose monthly bills are higher because the Vogtle project’s financing charges are tacked on.
Georgia Power was not amused.
“An April Fool’s joke about the state’s most important and largest energy construction project, which will serve Georgians for more than 60 years with reliable, carbon-free energy, is not funny,” a company spokesman said in an emailed statement. “Georgia Power and the more than 5,000 workers currently on the project are not laughing.”
The Vogtle plant near Augusta currently has two nuclear reactors built decades ago. The $16 billion-plus project to add two more units is $3 billion over budget and more than 3 years behind schedule. Georgia Power expects to complete the first new reactor, Unit 3, by July 1, 2019, and the fourth unit by July 1, 2020.
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