The rising cost of building a nuclear power plant in Georgia will soon be the focus of testimony.

A nuclear engineer and a financial analyst are expected to testify before the Public Service Commission on Tuesday about the cost of building two more nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle, southeast of Augusta.

Regulators initially gave Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power approval to spend roughly $6.1 billion as its share of the project. Georgia Power has a 46 percent stake in the new reactors.

The utility asked earlier this year to increase its construction budget by $737 million, but it recently withdrew that request as part of a tentative settlement. Instead, the commission will monitor project spending on a periodic basis for the next few years.

Tags: Georgia Power, nuclear plant, Plant Vogtle, Vogtle construction costs, new nuclear plant, nuclear plant construction costs