Staff Report
Published Aug. 20, 2012

Construction of two reactor units at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station appears to be on schedule and under budget, according to a quarterly report filed by South Carolina Electric & Gas.

SCE&G’s share of the construction cost is projected to reach $5.8 billion when the project is completed in 2018, compared with the initial forecast of $6.3 billion, according to the report filed with the S.C. Public Service Commission.

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The project’s cost continues to run under budget because the interest on borrowing money remains low, said SCE&G spokesman Eric Boomhower.

“Inflation is moving in the right direction,” Boomhower said.

SCE&G, which owns 55% of the project, added that it has met all of the construction milestones approved by the commission.

SCE&G’s partner, state-operated Santee Cooper, is not regulated by the commission.

As of June 30, 76 construction milestones that were agreed to by the utility and commission have been met, said SCE&G, principal subsidiary of Cayce-based SCANA Corp. Overall, the project has 146 separate milestones.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on March 30 issued combined construction and operating licenses for the Units 2 and 3 at the Fairfield County nuclear plant. On April 4, the company received a 404 Wetlands Permit that cleared the way for work to begin on the reactor units.

Since that time, some 10,000 cubic yards of concrete have been poured for the Unit 2 nuclear island where major components will be located. Another 8,000 cubic yards have been poured for the Unit 2 turbine building.

The new 1,100-megawatt nuclear units are scheduled to go into service in March 2017 and May 2018, respectively. Unit 1, an existing 966-megawatt reactor, which the utilities jointly operate, has been in operation since 1984.