Georgia energy regulators voted unanimously Tuesday to hold hearings this fall on a Georgia Power request to certify 9,900 megawatts of new power generating capacity environmentalists say would rely heavily on harmful fossil fuels.
The plan calls for adding about 8,000 megawatts of capacity by building new gas-burning turbines at Georgia Power's Plant Bowen near Cartersville, Plant Wansley near Carrollton, and Plant McIntosh near Rincon. The utility's "all source" request for proposals also would include purchasing gas produced at existing plants, construction of new battery energy storage systems (BESS), and company-owned BESS paired with solar power.
Another 1,866 megawatts of new generating capacity would come by buying gas from existing plants as well as new BESS project and company-owned BESS paired with solar.
More than 80% of the new capacity would be used to meet a growing demand for electricity to serve power-hungry data centers that are springing up across Georgia.
"Georgia Power and its parent - Southern Co. - want to heat up the planet, pollute our air, and make their customers pay for it," said Adrien Webber, director of the Sierra Club's Georgia chapter. "This proposal is not in the best interests of Georgia Power's customers or our environment, and if we had a Public Service Commission (PSC) that actually worked for the public, it would be dismissed as unreasonable."
The PSC voted last month to freeze Georgia Power's base rates for the next three years, exempting only costs the company incurred recovering from the damage Hurricane Helene wreaked in Georgia last September. The commission also adopted a resolution last January prohibiting Georgia Power from passing on the costs of serving new large-load customers including data centers to residential customers.
But critics argued the resolution was full of loopholes. Instead, they supported legislation introduced in the Georgia Senate this year by Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome, to codify that requirement into state law. However, the bill failed to gain traction in the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee amid opposition from Georgia Power.
The first set of hearings before the PSC will take place in October followed by a second round in early December. The commission is scheduled to vote on the certification request Dec. 19.
