With data centers rapidly multiplying across Georgia, state utility regulators must decide whether to allow Georgia Power Co. to spend more than $15 billion to boost its power capacity by 50% over six years. Supporters argue the growth is necessary to meet surging electricity needs from artificial intelligence infrastructure, while critics fear the utility may overbuild and leave regular customers footing the bill.
Georgia Power — Southern Co.’s largest subsidiary — said in regulatory filings that the investment would strengthen the state’s economy and position Georgia as a key player in the digital and AI-driven future. The company says demand from data center developers is so strong that the expansion must move forward.
But rising energy bills have become a major political flashpoint in Georgia and nationwide. Community pushback against data centers is growing amid concerns that everyday ratepayers could end up subsidizing huge tech companies.
“What’s happening in Georgia reflects what’s happening across the country,” said Charles Hua, head of Powerlines, a nonprofit promoting public involvement in utility regulation. “Electricity demand and electricity prices are rising at the fastest pace in decades.”
A growing political flashpoint
Electricity costs played a major role in recent gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia. In North Carolina, Gov. Josh Stein cited worries about energy-hungry data centers when rejecting Duke Energy’s proposed 15% rate increase.
Georgia’s Public Service Commission — made up of five Republican members — will vote on Georgia Power’s request just weeks after voters ousted two GOP commissioners over frustrations with repeated rate hikes. The two new Democrats won’t take office until January, and commissioners denied calls to delay the decision until after they are sworn in.
Environmental advocate Brionte McCorkle said she fears the current commission will approve the plan before leaving office. “It would be a slap in the face,” she said, arguing that voters clearly demanded more scrutiny of Georgia Power’s spending.
Most new electricity would serve data centers
Georgia Power, which serves 2.8 million customers, projects one of the nation’s steepest increases in electricity demand — second only to Texas. The utility says it needs 10,000 megawatts of new power generation, 80% of which would go to data centers. This comes on top of the 3,000 megawatts approved earlier in 2024 during an unusual mid-cycle request.
A core issue is who pays if the expected data center customers fail to materialize. Commissioners already adopted rules requiring data centers to cover the cost of new plants and transmission lines. But if there’s overbuilding, regular customers may end up paying.
“If you build all this infrastructure and the customers don’t come, bills could skyrocket,” Hua warned.
The full price remains unclear because portions of Georgia Power’s forecasts are confidential. The $15 billion figure covers only part of the expansion, excluding borrowing costs and the cost of previously approved capacity increases. Real impacts won’t be fully known until 2028, when rates are next reset.
Will customers bear the cost?
State staff estimate Georgia Power will need an additional $3.4 billion annually by 2031, which could translate into roughly $20 more per month for a typical household. The company insists that projection is wrong, saying large customers must pay the full cost upfront under long-term contracts and financial guarantees.
To minimize risk, staff recommend allowing construction only after large customers sign contracts, covering 3,100 megawatts initially and up to 7,400 megawatts by March 2025. This approach would also limit approval of expensive new natural gas plants, which have seen rising construction costs.
Georgia Power strongly opposed the staff recommendations, saying they would make it harder to attract data centers, hurt economic development and reduce opportunities to lower customer rates over time.
A negotiated compromise may still be reached before the Dec. 19 vote. McCorkle urged regulators to prioritize consumers: “We don’t want corporate welfare where everyday people subsidize massive companies like Meta and Amazon.”