In late December 2017, the Georgia Public Service Commission faced a major decision: whether to cancel construction of two nuclear power reactors at Plant Vogtle, near Waynesboro, which had been plagued by delays and escalating costs. According to the Department of Energy, the cost of generating electricity from newly constructed nuclear plants is almost double the cost for power from a new natural gas combined-cycle plant – the highly efficient type that utilities are most commonly building now. In deregulated Northeast and Midwest power markets, where generators compete to deliver electricity at the lowest cost, no new nuclear unit has been permitted for construction since 1977.