The Georgia Public Service Commission approved the Georgia Power Company request to credit to consumers a portion of the fuel cost that pays into the Nuclear Waste Fund, a move that will save Georgia Power customers about $31 million a year. The Company submitted the proposal for Commission approval after the Department of Energy formally set the fee it collects under the 1982 federal Nuclear Waste Policy Act to zero effective May 16, 2014. The DOE acted following with a federal court decision on November 19, 2013 that the government must set the fee at zero until it in compliance with the Act.

The Company will apply the credit to customers’ bills beginning with the billing month of July. It will mean a credit to the average residential customer using 1000 kilowatt hours a month of about $2.69 per year. Overall, Georgia Power customers have paid $827 million in the Fund since 1982 but with the accumulated interest, the total liability for Georgia is $1.546 billion.

“This reduction is long overdue,” said Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald. “This Commission, through the courts, has pushed the Department of Energy to either reduce the fee or build the nuclear waste repository,” McDonald said. “Georgia consumers have paid in over a billion dollars and have little to show for this investment.” McDonald serves as Vice-chair of the Nuclear Waste Subcommittee of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC).

Commission Chairman Chuck Eaton added, “This is a win today for the Georgia consumer. If the federal government refuses to keep its promise to build a nuclear waste repository then consumers should not be paying for it.”

“For too long the federal government has charged the ratepayers of Georgia a collection fee for our nuclear waste, yet they have not picked up a single ounce of it,” said Commissioner Tim Echols. “I am very glad the Commission could take this action today in light of the federal court.”

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 committed the federal government to build a repository to receive and store commercial nuclear waste and have it operational by 1998. The government failed to meet this deadline and state regulators through their national association NARUC sued to either force the government to meet its obligation or stop collecting the fee.

The Georgia Public Service Commission is a constitutional agency that exercises its authority and influence to ensure that consumers receive safe, reliable, and reasonably-priced telecommunications, electric and natural gas services from financially viable and technically competent companies. Additional information can be found on the Commission web site, www.psc.state.ga.us.