The cost of building two new AP1000 nuclear power plants at the Vogtle nuclear station in the US state of Georgia is growing, partly because of the coronavirus outbreak and the rising number of workers diagnosed with Covid-19.

Southern Company forecast it will cost $149m more for its share of the project. It said subsidiary Georgia Power, which owns 45.7% of the Vogtle project, could eventually ask state regulators to charge customers for the increase, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Southern said the Covid-19 pandemic continues to affect work at Vogtle, but it still expects to have the two new Generation III+ units operating by November 2021 and November 2022.