Southern Co.’s Georgia Power subsidiary is laying off 20% of its construction workforce at the troubled Vogtle nuclear power construction project in Georgia as the coronavirus sweeps through the plant. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last week, the company said, “This reduction in workforce is a mitigating action that is intended to address the impact of the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) on the Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 workforce and construction site, including ongoing challenges with labor productivity that have been exacerbated by the impact of COVID-19.”
It what appears to be a gloss on the bad news, the utility said the move “is expected to provide operational efficiencies by increasing productivity of the remaining workforce and reducing workforce fatigue and absenteeism. It is also expected to allow for increased social distancing by the workforce and facilitate compliance with the latest recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” in Atlanta, the Southern Company’s headquarters.
The company acknowledged that the action will likely cost an estimated $15-$30 million, on top of what has become a close to $30 billion project for two 1,100-MW reactors, vastly over the original budget and far behind schedule. The two units are the only nuclear power construction projects in the U.S.
The utility said it expects the layoffs will last until this summer, but doesn’t expect the decision to have any impact on the cost or the anticipated completion dates in late 2021 and 2022.
The Jacksonville, Fla., Times-Union reported, “It’s unclear whether any costs will be passed on to other partners in the project, including the Municipal Energy Authority of Georgia, which JEA [Jacksonville’s municipal utility] signed an agreement with more than a decade ago to help pay for the power plant’s construction in exchange for the right to purchase its nuclear energy when construction is complete.”
As the Vogtle project fell farther behind and more expensive, Jacksonville in the fall of 2018 sued in Florida court to void the contract with MEAG. The Times-Union reported that the lawsuit cost the city $5 million and led to credit downgradings from Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s. The court battle continues. The newspaper reported that JEA officials “said last year the utility may have to raise rates in 2021 or 2022 to help cover the increased costs.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week reported, “Officials at Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle have confirmed that 64 of their employees have tested positive for the coronavirus.” The plant site includes two active reactors in addition to the two under construction.
According to Augusta, Ga., television station WRDW, 38 plant workers are awaiting test results and 189 have tested positive. According to Georgia Power, the Vogtle construction workforce totals some 8,000 workers.
— Kennedy Maize