Long time coming: JEA starts getting Plant Vogtle electricity from both reactors

David Bauerlein, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union
·2 min read
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JEA's long wait for getting electricity from both new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle finally ended Monday when the second unit started commercial operation.

The expensive electricity from Plant Vogtle in Georgia will help JEA reach its goal of getting 35% of its electricity from "clean energy" sources by 2030 because nuclear energy does not generate carbon dioxide and other emissions that come from burning fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal and oil.

JEA customers started receiving electricity from the second new unit at 10 a.m. Monday, about nine months after it got electricity from the first of the two new reactors.

“JEA customers are now receiving carbon-free nuclear energy from Plant Vogtle’s Units 3 and 4 to help power our community," JEA Interim Managing Director and CEO Vickie Cavey said. "This marks a big step for nuclear energy in our country and a key milestone for JEA as we work toward our clean energy goal. We will continue to diversify our portfolio to provide sustainable and reliable energy.”

The zero-emission electricity from Plant Vogtle will come at a steep price. The cost of building the two new reactors has soared since JEA entered into an agreement in 2008 to buy electricity from the reactors, and that has put pressure on the utility to raise electric rates for its customers. Those rate increases started two years ago and could continue for several more years.

Georgia Power, which owns the biggest stake in Plant Vogtle, announced Monday the second of the two new reactors was able to serve customers.

Plant Vogtle in Georgia has four nuclear reactor units. Unit 3 opened on July 31, 2023 for commercial operations and unit 4 began commercial operations on April 29, 2024. Georgia Southern says with all four units in operation, Vogtle is the biggest generator of "clean energy" in the nation.
Plant Vogtle in Georgia has four nuclear reactor units. Unit 3 opened on July 31, 2023 for commercial operations and unit 4 began commercial operations on April 29, 2024. Georgia Southern says with all four units in operation, Vogtle is the biggest generator of "clean energy" in the nation.

"The new Vogtle units are a key piece of our strategy to met the energy needs of our customers not only tomorrow, but 20 years from now," said Kim Greene, CEO of Georgia Power.

Plant Vogtle already had two units in operation when JEA agreed to purchase electricity for 20 years from the planned units 3 and 4 after they were built.

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The initial cost for JEA was pegged at about $1.4 billion and reactor unit 3 was supposed to be online in 2016 and unit 4 in 2017. The construction faced years of delays and JEA's cost over the course of the 20-year contract for purchasing electricity from MEAG Power, which owns a portion of the two new reactors, has soared to nearly $3.5 billion.

Electricity from Vogtle's unit 3 makes up about 6.5% of JEA's energy mix and JEA expects that with unit 4 now online, Vogtle's electricity will increase to a total of 13% of what JEA supplies its customers. JEA also plans to increase its use of solar energy to bolster its use of carbon-free electricity.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: JEA welcomes electricity from completed Plant Vogtle reactors