ATLANTA — State regulators granted Georgia Power the authority for an historic expansion of its capacity to generate electricity in a unanimous vote Friday.
The decision by the five elected members of the Public Service Commission allows the privately-owned monopoly to build five gas-powered plants and supporting infrastructure mostly to serve anticipated demand by data centers.
The company asked for and got permission to add 10 gigawatts of generating capacity, saying its forecasts showed voracious future need by tech companies that are building more server warehouses to power the internet and artificial intelligence.
Critics contended that the forecast revenue, based on “trade secret” information that the public cannot see, was overly optimistic. If the demand does not materialize, they said, all of Georgia Power’s other customers would be left with the bill for the construction of that unneeded capacity.
To offset those concerns, the company pledged to shield “organic” customers — meaning existing customers and those who would have become customers through traditional economic growth — from the cost of the expansion through 2031.
“Large load” data centers will pay for the build out through the rates they pay but there remains a risk that the data centers do not come. Georgia Power addressed that by saying it would allocate costs based on the current revenue forecasts that assume they will. This would create “downward pressure” on rates for the typical residential customer amounting to $8.50 a month, the company said.
Lawyers for opponents, including environmental organizations and renewable energy advocates, contended that there were hidden numbers in Georgia Power’s calculations that would create “upward pressure” on residential bills, amounting to $8.50 or more.
They wanted Georgia Power to put all its forecast assumptions into the record for the agreement, so the commission could more easily hold the company to account for its pledge in the future.
Jason Shaw, chairman of the commission, denied the request, saying his agency already had all the necessary information from Georgia Power. Then the commissioners voted 5-0 for the expansion.