The Georgia Public Service Commission announced it will hold off approving any additional construction expenses above a $7.3bn cap on the cost of Georgia Power's Vogtle nuclear power station expansion until the project is completed, rather than every six months.

Press reports quoted John Kraft, a spokesperson for Georgia Power, as saying the change “preserves the transparency and accountability of the semi-annual construction monitoring process, while appropriately deferring certain decisions until closer to the project’s conclusion”.

An agreement approved by all five GPSC commissioners said: “Since the company has exceeded the approved revised capital cost of $7.3bn, it is no longer appropriate for the commission to verify and approve the dollars invested in the project”.