Late last month, Georgia Power (Southern Company) filed its eighth semi-annual report on the construction progress of its 2,240-MW two-unit Vogtle nuclear plant to the Georgia Public Service Commission (GPSC).
The already bad news got still worse–not surprising for a project that is all but financially insulated from its own failure. As I previously wrote at MasterResource:
With a pending $8.6 billion federal loan guarantee, a cap on liability, production tax credits and pre-collection of profits this makes Georgia Power the nation’s biggest welfare queen.
Georgia Power’s latest report to state regulators indulges in self-praise, shifts blame for growing problems, and employs misleading analysis. The Company asks the GPSC to approve an additional $737 million in cost and add 15 months to the project’s schedule. Since Georgia Power has 45.7% ownership, the entire $14 billion project has additional cost of over $1.6 billion.…
Continue Reading“The energy boom in North America demonstrates that competition and technology are powerful forces; indeed, markets work. When the price system is allowed to work, technology is brought to bear on supply (more) and demand (less) to the benefit of economies everywhere.”
Gone are the days of growing scarcity in the North American oil patch–and increasing petroleum imports from unstable regimes overseas.
The new consensus–that North American energy is plentiful and will remain so to at least the year 2040–is not based on hopes and hype. Over the last five years North America has experienced a true energy revolution, and it is continuing apace.
U.S. oil production is at its highest level since 1992, at over 7 million barrels per day (mmb/d), and Canada’s output exceeded 4 mmb/d at the end of last year, its highest level ever.…
Continue ReadingLike many Americans, I shake my head at the Obama Administration’s energy decisions. I am firmly convinced that the United States economy has been jeopardized by their actions, both made and not made. But hope springs eternal, and it is that time of year.
To many of you, I have a well-deserved reputation as a committed advocate for free energy markets. So it might seem incongruous to some that I would support a cabinet nomination by a progressive president.
Yet, here I am. President Obama has nominated Dr. Ernest Moniz to be the next Secretary Of Energy. I support that decision, and I believe all conservatives/market fans should do so also.
When I was CEO of the Center for the Advancement of Energy Markets (CAEM), the Board of Directors voted to issue an invitation to Dr.…
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