Georgia
Transformer fire led to emergency alert at Georgia’s largest nuclear plant
Officials issued an emergency alert at Georgia’s largest nuclear plant Tuesday afternoon after a small transformer fire.
According to Georgia Power Co., the alert was issued at 12 p.m. ET for a fire at the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant in Burke County, Georgia. A spokesperson for the energy company, John Kraft, told the Associated Press (AP) that the fire impacted a transformer that supplies electricity to one of the plant’s units. The alert was issued for Units 1 and 2 at the plant.
The fire and alert were not a threat to public safety, per Georgia Power Co.’s press release on the matter. Officials fully extinguished the fire and the alert was lifted at 2:36 p.m. ET.
A spokesperson for Georgia Power told Newsweek over the phone Tuesday that no injuries occurred in connection to the fire and that there was no risk to the reactor units under the alert or to the plant itself.
Pallava Bagla/Corbis via Getty Images
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC), which regulates civilian use of nuclear materials, has four classifications for emergencies at commercial nuclear power plants. An “alert” is the second-least serious category, above “notification of unusual event.”
USNRC spokesperson Dave Gasperson told AP that the fire at the Alvin W. Vogtle plant “did not affect any of the plant’s operating systems.” Georgia Power said in a press release earlier in the day that the alert meant that an event occurred that reduced the plant’s safety level but that no action was needed to be taken by the public.
“Georgia Power’s top priority is the safety of the public and employees at the plant,” the company said in an alert to its website. “We are committed to the safe operation of our nuclear generating facility.”
While Georgia Power holds the most control, the Alvin W. Vogtle plant is also partially owned by Oglethorpe Power Corporation, Municipal Electrical Authority of Georgia and Dalton Utilities.
The units where the alert was issued on Tuesday were first built in August 1976. Commercial operation on the units began in June 1987 and May 1989, per Georgia Power’s website. The units can generate up to 2,430 megawatts of power. According to AP, if the older units lose primary electricity from the outside grid as well as backup electricity from a diesel generator, the reactors could overheat and melt.
Commercial operations recently began at units 3 and 4 at the Vogtle plant as well, which were first built in June 2009. Operations at Unit 3 started in July 2023 and Unit 4 began running on April 29, 2024. The units have the capacity to generate 2,234 megawatts of power. AP said that the newer units are designed to avoid a meltdown if power is lost.
The SEC has announced the future Georgia football conference opponents for the 2026 through 2029 seasons.
Georgia will face Florida, South Carolina and Auburn every season. The SEC announced on Friday that the annual opponents will be revisited every four seasons.
Georgia football future SEC opponents, schedule
- 2026: Florida (Atlanta), at South Carolina, Auburn, at Alabama, at Ole Miss, at Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Vanderbilt
- 2027: Florida (Tampa), South Carolina, at Auburn, at Kentucky, at Texas, at Texas A&M, LSU, Mississippi State, Tennessee
- 2028: Florida (Jacksonville), at South Carolina, Auburn, Alabama, Ole Miss, Arkansas, at Oklahoma, at Missouri, at Vanderbilt
- 2029: Florida (Jacksonville), South Carolina, at Auburn, Kentucky, Texas, Texas A&M, at LSU, at Mississippi State, at Tennessee
“it’s hard. I mean, it’s brutal. And everybody’s the same,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said on Tuesday night. “I mean, we all gotta play each other. It’s really tough, highly ranked teams, physical teams. It’s just going to continue to be a grind. I mean, looking forward with the nines coming, it’s going to be scary because you just don’t have enough. Nobody has enough depth.”
Dates for the 2026 schedule will be announced in December, according to the conference. The schedules will be flipped in 2028 and 2029 from the home-road splits in 2026 and 2027.
In its scheduling outline, the SEC made it clear it wants competitively balanced schedules, which will be determined using the entire schedule and not just the annual opponents. Tennessee reportedly will face Alabama, Vanderbilt and Kentucky in each of the next four years. The latter two are not exactly football powerhouses.
According to the SEC, the highest opponent average winning percentage for any school in the 2026-29 schedules is 55.67% while the lowest is 46.65%, a difference of only 9.02%. From 2020 through 2023 — when the league still used the divisional format — the highest winning percentage was 61.32% and the lowest was 39.76%.
In addition to nine conference games, the SEC stipulates that schools face one Power Four in its nonconference scheduling.
Georgia’s game against Georgia Tech satisfies that requirement. Georgia has future nonconference games against Louisville, Florida State, Clemson and Ohio State on its schedule for the time being.
As it stands, Georgia has 13 games scheduled for the 2025 season. The Bulldogs have nonconfernce games against Tennessee State, Western Kentucky, Louisville and Georgia Tech.
“We’re working through that right now, and a lot of that’s going to be determined as we learn when and where our schedule is going to be in the next few weeks,” Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks said. “But that’s something we’re attacking right now to see what our options are going to be in 2026. So we’re going to take it one year at a time right now. The first focus is going to be on 2026 and then 2027 and moving on. So still a lot of work to be done, and I work closely with Coach Smart and Mark Robinson and the league to kind of figure out what is that going to mean for our schedule moving forward.”
Georgia takes on Alabama this week, with the game scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
The grounds for his arrest are still unknown, even to his attorneys.
We’re back for another week of college football action and the slate is loaded, including three games between ranked opponents.
Here’s how to watch in Week 3. Scroll down for live scores, highlights and more.
Advertisement
Here are the best games this Saturday:
Clemson at Georgia Tech (+3), Noon ET, ESPN: The Tigers are just 3-point favorites ahead of their first road game. It’s a sign that expectations for Clemson have been way off. With Haynes King back, the Yellow Jackets will want to keep it on the ground.
Georgia at Tennessee (+4), 3:30 p.m., ABC: Has Georgia’s offense been good enough ahead of this pivotal SEC game? Saturday is the day to air it out as Tennessee will be without its top two corners again.
South Florida at Miami (-17.5), 4:30 p.m., The CW: The Bulls are the surprise team so far this season. Can they pull off a third straight upset, or will the ‘Canes handle business?
Advertisement
Florida at LSU (-7), 7:30 p.m., ABC: This game was going to be the day’s marquee matchup before Florida’s loss to USF. A Florida victory would certainly quiet the idea that Billy Napier is on the hot seat.
Texas A&M at Notre Dame (-6.5), 7:30 p.m., NBC: Aggies QB Marcel Reed has thrown for seven TDs so far and A&M’s offense has racked up 953 total yards. The Irish will surely try to get the ball to their star running backs after a subpar opener.
West Virginia2 hours ago
West Virginia eatery among Yelp’s “outrageous outdoor dining spots”
Wyoming1 week ago
Special Olympics Wyoming seeking volunteers for state fall tournament
Crypto1 week ago
Ripple Highlights Transatlantic Initiative as Blueprint for Global Crypto Regulation
Finance2 weeks ago
Dividend Stability and Regional Strength: The Case for Truist Financial (TFC)
Fitness2 weeks ago
Donald Trump Fitness: Can His Golf Workouts Replace the Gym? Explore Trump’s Golf Exercise Routine and Health Benefits
Videos2 years ago
Why Marjorie Taylor Greene was ‘kicked out’ of the Freedom Caucus according to Rep. Buck
Colorado3 years ago
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
Midwest3 years ago
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
South3 years ago
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
South3 years ago
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
News2 weeks ago
Read the Letter to the Inspectors General
Politics2 weeks ago
GOP senator blasts Schumer, Dems as 'forcing' shutdown while demanding price tag report
World2 weeks ago
Palestine as a state – what would that actually look like?
News2 weeks ago
Farage refuses to criticise Trump over paracetamol despite health experts dismissing autism claims
Politics3 weeks ago