Data centers raise electric prices and lower reliability, but not in Georgia

As the CEO of the largest electric company in the state, serving millions of homes and businesses, I want to assure you that is not happening in Georgia.

Consumers will see lower power bills

Credit: Handout

Credit: Handout

At Georgia Power, we’ve built and maintained the infrastructure our state needs for more than 140 years.

From the beginning of the electric age, when lanterns gave way to electric lights, to the advent of air conditioning in the 1960s, to the internet boom of the 1990s, we know how to come together to face moments of rapid technological change and opportunity and keep Georgia moving in the right direction.

Working alongside the Georgia Public Service Commission and state leaders, we’ve taken deliberate steps that position our state differently. We believe growth can be a benefit — not a burden — and we’ve planned accordingly.

As temperatures climb and families across Georgia adjust their thermostats this summer, I want our customers to know two things: The energy you need will be there, and we are working every day to keep it affordable.

In May, the PSC approved a plan that will deliver approximately $285 million in annual savings for customers, or about $50 in yearly savings for the typical residential household. That means the overall rate you are paying for electricity from Georgia Power is lower than it was this time last year — very few utilities can say the same.

Those savings build on other recent good news for customers: stable rates through 2028, along with more than $100 in additional annual savings planned beginning in 2029. This isn’t accidental. It reflects a deliberate strategy to manage Georgia’s economic growth and rising electricity demand while keeping costs down for customers.

Data centers will pay for increased power use

So, how are we able to deliver these benefits when other states are struggling?

Because we have a system that allows us to plan, invest and deliver — for today and for 20 years from today.

Years ago, we recognized that large energy users, like data centers, could reshape the demand for electricity. Working with the PSC, we put protections in place to ensure residential and small business customers wouldn’t bear the cost of that growth. We created new rules and regulations that require them to pay for the infrastructure needed to serve them and commit to longer contract terms, minimum bills, termination payments and financial security provisions.

Simply put: They pay more, so you pay less.

This rate-reducing load growth is also resulting in a stronger, more resilient power grid for you, and for future generations of Georgians.

We’re adding new power plants across the state, including natural gas, solar and battery storage, as well as increasing the output of the country’s largest generator of clean energy at Plant Vogtle. We’re also building new transmission lines that serve as the backbone of our electric grid, reliably moving energy from power plants to the communities that depend on it.

This is what it looks like when growth is matched with preparation. Higher reliability and lower costs as we work to ensure that Georgia’s success benefits the people who call this state home.

At Georgia Power, our job is to make sure the infrastructure we build keeps pace with our state’s bright future — and serves everyone.

The families watching their bills every month. The small business owners who can’t afford a reliability failure. The next generation of Georgians who deserve opportunity, stability and a future in the state they know and love.

Kim Greene is chairman, president and CEO of Georgia Power.