Fresh Loaf

Earlier this year, Georgia Power made themselves a bunch of enemies with Senate Bill 31, a controversial piece of legislation sponsored by state Sen. Don Balfour, R-Snellville, that allows the utility to charge customers in advance for two new proposed nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta, Ga.

The bill’s proponents said the rate hike, which would cover the reactors’ financing costs, was necessary to build the costly white elephants. Consumer groups, libertarians, conservatives, liberals — hell, even senior citizens — fumed at the proposed tacked-on cost. Nonetheless, SB 31 passed, and starting in 2011 ratepayers will see an additional $1.30 each month on their energy bills. The monthly fee will roughly double every year, topping out at an estimated $9.30 a month — or $108 a year — in 2017.

Well, Uncle Sam might give Georgia Power ratepayers a little bit of a reprieve from those Plant Vogtle charges. The U.S. Department of Energy is set to bestow $18 billion in federal financing to four utilities that could boost nuclear energy production. And those Plant Vogtle reactors are reportedly on the federal agency’s shortlist.

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State Sen. Don Balfour, R-Snellville, opposes a proposed Gwinnett County tax hike, arguing that an economic downturn is not the time to raise taxes. But, during the recent General Assembly, he successfully pushed legislation to start billing Georgians next year for two nuclear reactors that won’t be completed until 2017.

“A tax increase … amounts to more financial strain on the taxpayer. People do not have the ability to pay more for government services right now.”
—    Balfour, from a June 11 AJC op-ed

“If we pay for the interest now, we’re saving money.”
—    Balfour, as quoted in the AJC Jan. 16, defending his plan to bill Georgia Power ratepayers upfront for the nukes

“The pre-payments would force current customers to subsidize future customers. … It is real money that they must pay years before it would otherwise be due.”
—    From the Feb. 6 report on Balfour’s bill by the Public Service Commission staff

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Georgia Trend magazine this month bestowed Georgia Power CEO Mike Garrett with the title “Most Respected Georgia Businessman.”

You think it’d be a fluff piece. But Garrett’s profile — which in the print edition is bordered by sycophantic ads hilariously congratulating the CORPORATE TITAN for this monumental achievement — is actually eye-opening.

Georgia Trend editor Susan Percy provides some additional details on the utility’s strong-arm effort to pass Senate Bill 31 during the most recent legislative session. That bill, which was recently signed by Gov. Sonny Perdue, allows Georgia Power to charge ratepayers in advance for the financing costs on two new proposed reactors at Plant Vogtle. It was widely lambasted. But bad ideas under the Gold Dome have a way of growing legs and becoming law.

Percy’s one of the first journalists we’ve seen to ask Garrett on the record about the controversial legislation — as well as the steamrollin’ way the bill was shoved down lawmakers’ throats.

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Plant Vogtle

The Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation and its president John Sherman filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Fulton County Superior Court over Senate Bill 31, a controversial piece of legislation that allows Georgia Power to begin charging customers in advance for two new proposed nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle.

The lawsuit names the Georgia Public Service Commission, the quasi-judicial state agency that decides how much you pay for your electricity, and Gov. Sonny Perdue, who signed the bill on April 21, as defendants.

During the legislative session, a diverse group of critics called the bill unfair because some industrial customers are exempt from the rate hike. They also said the issue belonged in the Georgia Public Service Commission, where a full-time staff examines and studies the complicated issue of nuclear financing. Georgia Power hired more than 70 lobbyists the push the bill.

In court documents, the foundation’s attorney John Woodham — the lone-wolf barrister who successfully fought the Beltline’s main funding mechanism all the way to Georgia Supreme Court — calls the bill unconstitutional on numerous grounds.

View the 53-page lawsuit here (PDF). It’s a long and complicated read for those not learned in the language of legalese. But it lays the groundwork of what’s sure to be an interesting battle over one of the past legislative session’s most controversial issues.

(Courtesy Nuclear Regulatory Commission)

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Plant Vogtle

It’s quite common for journalists to “bury the lede” — that is, to downplay the real news and stick it in the far recesses of an article. Sometimes it’s on purpose, but usually it’s avoided.

To “bury the lede” on a press release? Kind of bizarre. But it happened today when Gov. Sonny Perdue announced he’d signed a bill that would mean more money for the state’s unemployed — and even up to 13 extra weeks of benefits to help them through hard times. It all comes from federal funds, so it wouldn’t mean a tax increase on Georgia businesses. Sounds good, right?

Perdue followed up that little bit of sunshine with a long list of legislation he also inked today with his Juan Hancock. Among them: Senate Bill 31. That’s the WTF legislation that allows Georgia Power to start charging customers for some costs of two proposed reactors at Plant Vogtle years before the white elephants are completed. It was widely maligned and derided by everyone from conservative bloggers to the AARP. Apparently the only people in favor of the plan were the free-market drumbeaters at the Georgia Public Policy Foundation and lawmakers coached in talking points by 70 lobbyists hired to peddle the bill.

Its signing into law wasn’t very surprising, really. (Perdue’s chief of staff is a former Georgia Power “vice president of governmental and regulatory affairs,” or, in English, “lobbyist”). But it’s just kind of funny that one of the hot-button bills of the session — one that would “create jobs” and “be good for Georgia” — didn’t merit its own press release. And the fact that a recent lawsuit filed by Atlanta attorney John Woodham and the Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation about the bill didn’t even make Perdue wince or explain the decision.

After the jump, the full announcement about the state unemployment legislation Perdue signed. But first, the full list of all the other bills Perdue signed today. Play along with us as we sort through the pile and see what they were! At the top of the screen, select whether it’s “HB” for “House Bill” or “SB” for “Senate Bill” and then enter the number in the field. It’s fun! Kind of.

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This could be interesting.

From the office of state Senate Minority Leader Robert Brown of Macon comes a press release titled “Mending Georgia Power.”

The Georgia Power tax-bill, SB31, sailed through the chambers of the state assembly this session. Emphasizing the need to limit the damage of the Georgia Power tax, Senator Robert Brown will be holding a press conference tomorrow, March 19th, at 11:30 A.M. in the Senate Press Office. Senator Brown will discuss legislation addressing issues that have surfaced in the wake of Georgia Power’s evasion of Georgia’s process for regulating utility companies.

SB 31, if you recall, would allow Georgia Power to charge customers in advance for two new proposed nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle. Critics opposed the bill because it placed the burden of a costly and unpredictable technology on the shoulders of ratepayers and not the company’s shareholders, among other reasons. The bill passed both the Senate and House.

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Do you or one of your neighbors have an extra closet — maybe some storage space or a shed out back — where a mom-and-pop nuclear facility can dispose of their low-level radioactive waste? Plant Vogtle might need to borrow it.

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and other environmental groups recently raised a red flag about two new reactors proposed for the nuclear plant near Augusta that’s owned and operated by several Peach State utilities, including Georgia Power.

At issue is whether the nuclear facility, already home to two power-generating white elephants, has sufficient plans to safely dispose of low-level radioactive waste produced by the new reactors.

And late last week, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, a three-judge federal panel that’s part of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and one of the many steps in the complicated process of approving nuke plants, said the environmental groups’ concerns merit a closer look. Should Southern Nuclear, the Southern Co. subsidiary that operates Plant Vogtle, not produce a better long-term plan, the federal agency might not issue the company a permit to build the new reactors.

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Want to yell your representative’s ear off about Senate Bill 31? Maybe applaud them for listening to your input? Courtesy of a little birdie who flew onto my windowsill, here are the vote counts for the bill.

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After hours of debate, the Georgia House of Representatives passed a controversial bill that would allow Georgia Power to charge customers in advance for financing costs on two proposed nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle.

The bill now moves back to the state Senate where it originated and passed by a wide margin. That chamber will then send it to Gov. Sonny Perdue’s desk for signature. The governor has not said whether he supports or opposes the measure. It merits a mention, however, that Perdue’s chief of staff is a former Georgia Power executive.

Full list of how lawmakers voted will be posted when it’s available.

(Photo courtesy of Plant Vogtle)

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Senate Bill 31, a belated Christmas gift to Georgia Power, is scheduled to come up for a vote Wednesday in the state House. Normally, I’d assume that a bill this controversial and with such powerful backing wouldn’t hit the House floor unless its supporters had counted the votes and were certain of its passage.

But I’m not so sure in this case.

As you recall, SB 31 would allow Georgia Power to start billing ratepayers on the front end for the cost of building two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle. Under current law, the utility secures its own financing for capital projects, then recoups its investment after a new facility goes online. The bill is controversial both because it would circumvent the normal regulatory authority of the elected Public Service Commission and because many folks believe it’s not a good deal for consumers.

One House Republican told me that he and many of his fellows were plenty steamed after learning that most of the $1.6 billion Georgia Power expects to collect in financing fees would be used to line the pockets of the utility’s shareholders – yet more ammunition for critics who contend that the arrangement is designed to shield the private company from financial risk at the expense of the public.

An opposing lobbyist speculates that Georgia Power is trying to rush through a floor vote because the bill is losing votes with each passing day. If that’s the case and this is a desperation move, then stayed tuned – anything can happen.

(Photo Christina Wedge)

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Surprise, surprise.

Most of the $1.6 billion in early financing fees that Georgia Power wants to charge customers for additional nuclear reactors would go to the company’s shareholders, and not to finance debt.

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State Rep. Don Wix, D-Mableton, tried and failed to amend that bill to exclude the $1 billion he estimated would flow to shareholders, if SB 31 is passed.

Georgia Power comptroller Ann Daiss later called Wix’s calculations “reasonable.”

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Opponents of a controversial piece of legislation have a powerful voice on their side.

Erick Erickson, editor of Peach Pundit, sent a message to readers today asking them to tell their lawmakers to vote “no” on Senate Bill 31. That bill, which sailed through the state Senate last week, would allow Georgia Power to charge customers in advance for two new proposed nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle. He explains the decision here.

That position is sure to catch the attention of many state lawmakers — particularly House members who are now mulling over the legislation.

You can rest assured they won’t miss the post. Seated in the House’s press box, a journalist gets a clear view of lawmakers’ laptops. Throughout the day, you’re bound to see Peach Pundit on several screens.

Erickson’s letter is posted after the jump.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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The state Senate today passed a bill 38-16 that would allow Georgia Power to begin collecting fees from customers to help pay for two proposed nuclear reactors prior to their construction. (The Senate Press Office included in its release about the bill’s passage this hilarious photo to the right of the bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Don Balfour, R-Gavelville.)

The bill now moves to the House, where Jim Galloway of the AJC says lawmakers are generally warm to the idea.

Supporters of the bill say it’ll save the utility — and in turn, customers — money in the long run.

But many lawmakers and consumer groups oppose the move because they say it sidesteps the Public Service Commission  — and partially exempts big business and industrial customers from the increased rates.

For an excellent rundown of the controversial legislation, view my esteemed colleague Scott Henry’s post.

After the jump, Dave Williams of the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports some lawmakers’ thoughts about the bill.

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