The head of the Atlanta-based Southern Co. does not expect an earthquake that has caused a nuclear crisis in Japan will delay the construction of two more nuclear reactors in eastern Georgia.

Southern Co. CEO Tom Fanning said in a statement that his company is monitoring events in Japan, but it remains committed to building two new reactors at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro. Fanning said he still expects the project will keep its current construction schedule and remain on budget. Its principal owners are Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power Corp. Dalton Utilities and MEAG Power. The City of Covington is a member of MEAG.

If approved by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the $14 billion project could become the first nuclear plant in the United States to break ground in a generation. The Obama administration has promised $8 billion in federal loan guarantees to fund it.