Georgia Public Service Commission staff, analysts and state monitors reiterated concerns June 24 over construction progress on two new reactors at the Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Plant, which they said are underscored by the recent launch of a federal inspection into the project by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Staff, analysts and monitors highlighted "major issues" at the plant during the hearing, some initially discovered months ago by a "last-line-of-defense team," state monitor William Jacobs said. Those issues led, at least in part, to the NRC launching an additional special inspection of the 1,117-MW unit 3 and potential implications for unit 4 on June 21.
While the nuclear expansion has been plagued by delays and cost overruns for years, staff and monitors said issues "seem to be getting broader" as the project continues, making the NRC's additional inspection a "very significant development." There is also a risk that the inspection "could expand," said Steven Roetger, an analyst for the PSC.
The new inspection, which goes beyond the NRC's standard review, will analyze the expansion's electrical systems, reviewing "what has led to construction remediation work for the electrical cable raceway system" on unit 3, "designed to prevent a single event from disabling redundant safety-related equipment."
The NRC will also review how Southern Nuclear Operating Co. Inc. responded when issues were identified, including quality assurance processes. The inspection is expected to last about two weeks, and a report is expected within 45 days after completion. The NRC said it will not authorize Southern to load fuel and operate unit 3 until construction is complete and standards have been satisfied.
Staff and monitors appeared to place at least some blame on company timelines for the project, alleging the company or its contractors may have prioritized speed over quality.
"And the NRC will find that," Roetger said.
Southern Nuclear Operating said it welcomes the review and will work with the NRC on the inspection process.
While Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power Co.'s site plan still indicates a January 2022 completion date for unit 3, state monitors said both additional units are further behind schedule and it is unlikely unit 3 will begin generating electricity until at least summer 2022. Total project costs could also reach $2 billion higher than the regulatory approved amount of $17.1 billion as the expansion faces further construction delays and other issues.
Unit 4 is set to begin operating in November 2022, but PSC independent monitor Donald Grace said that could be pushed to June 2023 at the earliest. Georgia Power announced June 7 that unit 4 had achieved initial energization.
"We believe many of the challenges faced during this critical test are excessive and attributable in part to poor first-time quality and the lack of testing full complete systems," Roetger said, adding that these issues "provide a snapshot of the quality challenges that this project has faced over the years."
Staff and monitors repeatedly questioned the "supposed" full testing of required support systems for the expansion project, specifically a 60% failure rate for some components, which are problems they said should have been addressed long before hot functional testing.
"That's way beyond what you'd anticipate," Jacobs said. "You would hope all the supporting systems should have been tested fully."
