Southern Company subsidiary Georgia Power has received licence approval to start construction on two nuclear units at the Vogtle plant in Georgia, US. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued the combined construction and operating licence (COL) for the Vogtle units 3 and 4. Southern Company subsidiary Southern Nuclear is overseeing construction and will operate the two new 1100MW AP1000 units for Georgia Power and co-owners Oglethorpe Power Corporation, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and Dalton Utilities. Georgia Power owns 45.7% of the new units, with a certified cost of USD 6.1 billion. Georgia Power expects Unit 3 to begin operating in 2016 and Unit 4 in 2017.