(Georgia Recorder) — State regulators are set to vote Friday on a massive energy capacity request from Georgia Power that proponents say protects ratepayers but environmental and consumer groups warn relies on uncertain data center demand, which critics say could cost customers billions.
The Georgia Public Service Commission is considering the utility’s request to approve nearly 10,000 megawatts of new energy infrastructure, roughly five Hoover Dams’ worth of energy, primarily to serve a projected surge in data centers. Commission staff and Georgia Power recently reached an agreement that allows the utility to proceed with its full request under specific conditions. Under the deal, the utility has agreed to protect existing customers from rate increases until 2031 if the projected data center boom fails to materialize.
“Staff now supports the stipulation with Georgia Power, which addresses the core concern of protecting ratepayers from speculative load forecasts,” said PSC Electric Unit Director Robert Trokey at the Dec. 10 hearing.
Trokey and other commission staff testified that the provision allows at least $8.50 per month in “downward pressure” on residential rates during this period, even if the spike in demand does not materialize as forecasted, and that Georgia Power would assume financial risk through 2031.
Before the agreement was made public, commission staff recommended a more conservative approach, approving only one-third of the utility’s 10,000-megawatt request and giving conditional approval to another third.
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Environmental and consumer advocacy groups, including the Southern Environmental Law Center, Georgia Interfaith Power and Light and Southface Institute, are asking the commission to reject the plan. In a closing brief, the groups argued that, with interest included, customers could end up paying as much as $60 billion of the cost of building out the massive energy infrastructure. The groups also argued that the protections in the agreement are insufficient, warning the commission that overbuilding for data centers that may never materialize is a risk to its customers.
“This 10,000 megawatt request is not about reliability, or the risk of blackouts; it is about on what ‘timeline’ Georgia Power may accommodate prospective new large load customers,” the SELC wrote in its filing ahead of the vote. “For existing customers in Georgia Power’s territory, the risk of underbuilding — which only arises if Georgia Power chooses to cancel a conditionally certified resource — is that Georgia Power may have to ask prospective customers for a longer load ramp, something they already are doing.”
A new report commissioned by SELC and produced by Greenlink Analytics and Science for Georgia challenges the utility’s energy demand projections, suggesting they are statistically improbable. The report indicates that Georgia Power is basing its 10,000-megawatt request on a highly improbable 1-in-500 scenario, asking for more capacity alone than the 2,400 to 6,700 megawatts of growth they projected for the entire Southeast.
“Infrastructure planning or investment decisions that rely on high demand forecasts risk driving unnecessary investments and infrastructure,” according to the report. “We recommend healthy skepticism of aggressive utility forecasts to avoid underutilized or stranded assets and increased retail electricity costs for ratepayers.”
