For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Georgia Public Service Commission hosted its administrative meeting outside of Atlanta, bringing the session to Savannah amid data center development conversations, namely the OpenAI project in Effingham County.
The commission held its regular administrative meeting, Tuesday, in the Chatham County Board of Commissioners Chambers before hosting a two-hour town hall, where residents from across southeast Georgia questioned commissioners and utility officials about rapid data center development, pressuring them for stricter regulations.
“What you're dealing with now – and what we're all dealing with quite frankly – and what we've been dealing with at the commission for about three years now – is these large load customers and how we deal with that from a regulatory perspective and working with our regulated utilities in the state,” PSC Chairman Jason Shaw said.
The PSC met in front of a full house with Georgians from across the southeast attending to listen in or address the commission. Representatives from Georgia Power answered some questions at the end. OpenAI officials were also acknowledged in the room, but none stood up to address the public’s questions or concerns.
Effingham County officials were also absent from the meeting room, a detail that did not go unnoticed by public attendees, many of whom were attending to bring up concerns about OpenAI’s planned 1,400-acre Effingham County data center campus.
Public Service Commission
The Georgia Public Service Commission is the regulatory body for Georgia Power and other state utility companies. The PSC opened the town hall with a background on how the PSC has been handling “large-load” contracts, like OpenAI’s.
Tom Bond, director of utilities for the PSC, said the surge in data center demand has prompted the commission to establish new requirements for large-load contracts. Bond said the PSC directed Georgia Power in early 2025 not to sign new data-center contracts until the commission established a framework for reviewing them.
Under that framework, large-load contracts must be submitted to the commission for review. Requirements include long-term contracts, minimum bills, upfront payment for certain local infrastructure, termination payments and financial security.
The OpenAI agreement, filed with the PSC in July, calls for a 25-year term and 3.2 gigawatts of demand. Georgia Power has said OpenAI will pay the full infrastructure and electric-service costs associated with the project and has agreed to provide up to 1,000 megawatts of flexible demand response during periods of high demand.
Bond said PSC staff negotiated two additional protections into the agreement. If OpenAI terminates the contract early, Georgia Power cannot seek recovery of the resulting incremental revenue deficiency from ordinary residential, commercial or industrial customers. Any recovery would first require commission approval and would be directed toward other large-load customers.
The company also agreed to increase a previously established customer benefit from $8.50 to $15 per month for typical residential customers for 2029 through 2031, according to Bond.
OpenAI/Georgia Power contract
Several public commenters pushed for the PSC to reveal the full OpenAI and Georgia Power contract, which was fully redacted due to trade secrets.
“Georgia Power is the most insulated company that’s out there. They don’t respond to their customers,” Donna McLaurin, one public commenter said. “All of the questions we have about this contract, we're not going to get answers from Georgia Power. We're not going to get it from the AI company.”
PSC Commissioner Alicia Johnson emphasized that the PSC does not oversee the underlying agreement between Effingham County and OpenAI.
Johnson said the commission regulates the electric-service portion of the project, including the amount of power and infrastructure involved and who pays for it. Local governments and economic development authorities, she said, are responsible for siting and local agreements.
Johnson said she had provided Effingham County officials with a template for stronger local ordinances, in July, addressing issues such as noise, water stewardship and decommissioning.
“We did protect you in what we could protect you from,” Johnson said. “What I'm encouraging you to do is to charge the people that you elected in your county who are responsible for all of the items that you have laid out that you charge them with the same fervor to represent your interest in your county as well.”
Several attendees pushed back at the PSC for approving Georgia Power grid expansions that include harmful fossil fuels.
“We don't need to use dirty polluting fuels,” Charles Eyler, a public commenter, said. “They are heating up the earth. Georgia Power is heating up the Earth and charging us for air conditioning. The world has changed. Georgia Power is stuck in the past and resisting important changes.”
Other speakers asked about transmission infrastructure and eminent domain.
Transmission lines
Gwen McLee, a Savannah resident who owns property in Emanuel County, neighboring Bulloch County, said she learned that a proposed transmission route could cross her property. She questioned how routes are selected and who ultimately approves them.
“It will destroy our entire property,” McLee said to the commission. “We are very concerned. I don't feel like I've been able to get a lot of information. I don't even understand who approves transmission lines.”
PSC Commissioner Peter Hubbard acknowledged that transmission-line siting presents a regulatory gap. He said that when utilities and landowners cannot reach an agreement, disputes can move into eminent-domain proceedings in superior court, outside the PSC’s jurisdiction.
Georgia Power has several major transmission projects scheduled for around the state, including in Effingham County.
Of the 22 Georgians signed up to speak during public comment, just two expressed a potential benefit in data center development: construction opportunities
Two public commenters who work in construction said large data center projects could provide construction jobs and opportunities for local workers.
“If these projects come, they should be built by Georgians and we want to build,” Brett Hulme said.
Many public commenters pushed the PSC to vote “in line with” Georgia’s residents.
“Don't forget that you're here to serve the people and you're elected by the people,” Corey Foreman, a Bryan County resident, said. “You do not work for Georgia Power. You do not work for any other electric company, gas company or utility company in the state.”
Lucille Lannigan is a growth and development reporter for Morris Multimedia.