While Georgia Power and Southern Nuclear are subsidiaries of Southern Company, Westinghouse which became bankrupt in March is a subsidiary of Toshiba.
Georgia Power has also signed a new deal with Toshiba to secure $3.68bn in the form of parental guarantees as a protection for the electric utility’s customers in the wake of Westinghouse's bankruptcy. The US Department of Energy has already approved the agreement between Georgia Power and Toshiba.
A service agreement inked by the parties in this regard would need an approval of the board of directors of Westinghouse besides meeting other conditions such as an approval from a bankruptcy court.
It would also need Westinghouse to turn down the current engineering, procurement and construction contract of the Vogtle nuclear power plant.
Georgia Power chairman, president and CEO Paul Bowers said: "We are pleased with today's positive developments with Toshiba and Westinghouse that allow momentum to continue at the site while we transition project management from Westinghouse to Southern Nuclear and Georgia Power.
"We are continuing to work with the project's Co-owners to complete our full-scale schedule and cost-to-complete analysis and will work with the Georgia Public Service Commission to determine the best path forward for our customers."
The service agreement features engineering, procurement and licensing support, along with access to Westinghouse intellectual property required for the nuclear power plant.
Image: Alvin Ward Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant Units 1 and 2 in Burke County, Georgia. Photo: courtesy of NRC/Wikipedia.org.
