April 30, 2026, marks the two-year anniversary of the completion of Plant Vogtle, the only nuclear reactors built in the United States in the past 30 years. While state leaders celebrate it as a triumph, for Georgia Power customers experiencing two years of high electricity bills, this anniversary is not a celebration. It is a […]
Author Archives: Patty Durand
Posted inGuest Column
Blackout by design: Disenfranchisement and exploitation in Georgia’s power industry
After 15 years of construction, on April 30, 2024, Georgia Power completed construction of two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle, near Waynesboro, Georgia. As a result, Georgia Power will increase residential rates 23.7 percent to pay for its construction, on top of the $1,000 Georgia Power has already collected from customers from an on-bill […]
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Plant Vogtle: Time for reform
As we know, Georgia is the only state in the nation building a nuclear power plant. On July 3, Plant Vogtle’s Unit 3 entered commercial operation after 13 years of construction. Georgia Power and the Georgia Public Service Commission (GA PSC) have been active in promoting this milestone as important for Georgia and an accomplishment […]
Posted inColumns, Guest Column
Plant Vogtle is almost complete — time to celebrate?
By Guest Columnist PATTY DURAND, president and founder of Cool Planet Solutions and a candidate for the Georgia Public Service Commission District 2. As spring approaches, so does the in-service date for Plant Vogtle’s Unit 3, the first of two nuclear reactors under construction in Georgia, and the only nuclear plant under construction in the […]
Posted inColumns
Plant Vogtle: Georgia’s shame
By Guest Columnist PATTY DURAND, president of Cool Planet Solutions
Georgia Power has the only nuclear plant under construction in the United States, which I call “Georgia’s Shame.” It is shameful that the timeline the utility provided to regulators, investors and the public – those of us paying for this plant – is now six years behind schedule. And it is shameful that the utility’s cost estimates for this plant were off by a shocking 100%: The original cost estimate for the two new units was $14 billion, and 2021 costs are near or at $30 billion.
