Utility regulators have set a schedule for deciding whether to cut the earnings of Georgia Power if construction costs on a proposed nuclear plant run over budget.

The subsidiary of the Atlanta-based Southern Co. will present its last proposal for controlling costs and any alternate ideas on April 27. The company seeks to build two more reactors at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro.

Staff members of the Public Service Commission will file their last proposal with the utility on June 10. A PSC hearing is set for July 6.

Commission staffers have proposed shaving the money that Georgia Power would make off its new reactors if project construction costs exceed $6.4 billion. If the bill is less than $5.8 billion, the utility would get a boost in its earnings.

Tags: Georgia Power, Public Service Commission, Plant Vogtle, utilities, nuclear reactor construction