Georgia’s largest utility is asking regulators to sign off on one of the most aggressive grid expansions in the country, a multibillion‑dollar push to keep pace with the power appetite of cloud computing and artificial intelligence. The proposal would sharply increase generating capacity over the next decade, reshape the state’s fuel mix, and test whether Georgia can ride the data center boom without saddling households with higher bills.
At the center of the fight is a plan to expand capacity by roughly half, backed by more than $15 billion in spending, largely to serve a wave of massive server farms clustered around Atlanta and other fast‑growing hubs. The outcome will help determine not only how those facilities plug into the grid, but also who pays for the build‑out and how long Georgia leans on fossil fuels to keep the lights on.
The scale of Georgia Power’s capacity push
The core of the proposal is straightforward and staggering: Georgia’s largest utility wants to spend more than $15 billion to increase its electricity capacity by 50% over the next decade, with most of that new power aimed at energy‑hungry data centers. Company testimony frames the build‑out as a necessity to keep up with contracted demand from some of the world’s biggest tech firms, which are racing to expand cloud and AI capacity in Georgia. The utility argues that without a rapid expansion, the state risks turning away billions in investment and losing its competitive edge in the digital economy.
The request comes on top of an earlier mid‑cycle expansion that already added 3,000 m of capacity, a sign of how quickly the demand curve has shifted. Regulators had already approved that earlier tranche after an unusual mid‑cycle request by Georgia Power, and the new plan would stack another wave of generation and grid upgrades on top of it. Taken together, the expansions would mark one of the most dramatic growth spurts for any regulated utility in the country, with Georgia positioned as a test case for how far a state will go to accommodate the data center industry.
Data centers as the main driver of new demand
Behind the numbers is a simple driver: data centers are transforming Georgia’s load forecast. Company officials describe a surge of large, long‑term contracts with hyperscale customers that are locking in multi‑gigawatt demand around Atlanta and other corridors. In testimony filed with regulators, the largest subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Co, Georgia Power, says the build‑out is being driven by specific customer commitments rather than speculative growth. That framing is crucial, because it underpins the company’s argument that the expansion is less about general economic optimism and more about meeting firm obligations to power data halls that are already on the drawing board.
Regulators and consumer advocates have zeroed in on those contracts, pressing for details on how much risk is being shifted onto the utility’s 2.4 million residential customers. During recent hearings, Georgia Power faced a line of questioning about whether its long‑term deals with data center operators adequately protect households if the tech sector’s appetite cools. Critics worry that if demand projections prove too rosy, ordinary ratepayers could be left paying for stranded assets built to serve a handful of corporate giants, a concern that has surfaced repeatedly as the data center contracts come under scrutiny.
Regulators, hearings, and a politically charged timeline
The decision now sits with the Georgia Public Service Commission, which is weighing the capacity plan in a high‑stakes proceeding that blends technical modeling with political timing. After hearings next week, commissioners are scheduled to take a final vote on the proposal on Dec. 19, a calendar that means the current majority will decide the issue before two new Democrats are sworn in. That schedule has sharpened the political edge of the case, since the incoming commissioners campaigned on closer scrutiny of utility spending and stronger consumer protections.
Regulatory staff have already signaled concerns about the pace and composition of the expansion, warning that the plan could lock in higher costs and emissions if not carefully structured. At the same time, the commission has a track record of approving significant new generation for Georgia Power, including a major gas‑fired expansion earlier this cycle. The looming vote will test how far the current panel is willing to go in greenlighting another wave of capacity before the new political balance takes effect, and whether the final order reflects the caution urged by internal Staff or the urgency emphasized by the company.
How the plan leans on gas and coal
Even as Georgia Power touts its investments in renewables, the capacity strategy for data centers leans heavily on fossil fuels. In its most recent integrated resource plan, or IRP, regulators approved a blueprint that keeps multiple coal units online longer than previously planned specifically to help serve data center load, while also adding a substantial amount of new gas capacity. The company argues that these plants provide the firm, around‑the‑clock power that large server farms require, especially as AI workloads push utilization higher and make short‑term curtailments less acceptable to customers.
Over the summer, Georgia Power also sought permission to buy power from other gas‑burning plants in Georgia and Alabama and to build additional gas‑fired units of its own, explicitly tying those moves to the onslaught of data centers. The utility’s filings describe a portfolio that includes new combustion turbines, long‑term contracts with independent generators, and upgrades to existing fossil units, all framed as necessary to maintain reliability as demand spikes. Environmental groups have warned that this approach could lock Georgia into decades of higher emissions, but for now the company’s massive data center expansion still includes a lot of gas as its backbone.
Clean energy workarounds: letting data centers build their own
As the fossil‑heavy mix draws criticism, state officials are experimenting with a parallel track that gives big customers more control over their own clean energy. Under the CIR option, large customers will be able to seek out their own projects directly with a developer, then have Georgia Power integrate those customer‑identified resources into the grid. The framework is designed to let data centers and other large users sponsor dedicated solar, wind, or storage projects that match their sustainability pledges, without forcing the utility to own every new megawatt of capacity.
Supporters say the approach could unlock billions in private investment while easing pressure on the utility’s balance sheet and giving tech companies a clearer line of sight to the renewable projects they want to claim. Critics counter that the details will matter, especially how costs and benefits are shared with other ratepayers and how much control Georgia Power retains over interconnection and dispatch. The early blueprint suggests that the state expects a significant share of new clean capacity to come from these Under the CIR projects through 2035, effectively creating a two‑track system in which the utility builds conventional plants while data centers help finance bespoke renewable portfolios.
What it means for residential bills
For most Georgians, the central question is not how many megawatts the grid can deliver to a server farm, but what the build‑out will do to their monthly bills. Georgia Power insists that residential and small business customers are protected from cost increases tied directly to the data center projects, pointing to contract structures that assign much of the risk to the large users themselves. Company executives have pushed back on claims that the plan would automatically add $20 or more to typical bills, calling that figure “flatly incorrect” and arguing that any incremental costs will be phased in and offset by other savings.
The debate is complicated by the fact that base rates are already frozen through at least 2028 under a settlement approved by the Georgia PSC. That deal, which the Georgia Public Service Commiss described as a way to give customers predictability after a series of increases, locks in current base charges while leaving room for separate riders to recover fuel and construction costs. Consumer advocates warn that those riders could still climb as new plants come online, even if the headline rate stays flat, while the company notes that the commission has already addressed earlier increases in a separate Georgia PSC proceeding.
Rate cases, riders, and who pays for growth
To understand how the data center build‑out will ultimately show up on bills, it helps to look at Georgia Power’s recent rate history. In its 2022 Rate Request, the company secured a multi‑year plan that allowed phased‑in increases during 2023, 2024, and 2025, along with mechanisms to adjust for fuel costs and major capital projects. The Georgia Public Service Commission approved that structure after months of hearings, setting the stage for the current debate over how much additional spending can be layered on without reopening the entire rate case.
Now, as the utility seeks approval for another wave of generation, regulators are weighing how to allocate costs between data center customers and everyone else. Georgia Power points to special tariffs and contract provisions that it says will ensure large users shoulder the bulk of the new investment, while public interest groups argue that shared infrastructure and systemwide upgrades inevitably spill over into general rates. The filings invite the public to View the docket record, but the core tension is straightforward: how to finance rapid growth without turning Georgia’s data center boom into a hidden tax on households.
How this fits into Georgia’s broader generation build‑out
The current capacity request does not exist in a vacuum; it builds on a series of earlier approvals that have already reshaped the state’s generation fleet. Utility regulators previously signed off on a plan for Georgia Power to add new gas‑fired capacity that is almost three times the capacity of the two new Vogtle reactors, a striking comparison given how much attention those nuclear units have received. That deal allowed the company to contract for generation from multiple gas plants and to accelerate construction timelines, signaling the commission’s willingness to move quickly when reliability is at stake.
Those earlier decisions mean that a significant portion of the infrastructure needed to support data centers is already in motion, even before the latest proposal is fully vetted. The new request would layer additional plants, purchases, and grid upgrades on top of the gas expansion that regulators have already approved, effectively doubling down on a strategy that prioritizes dispatchable capacity over a rapid pivot to renewables. For Georgia, the result is a power system that is racing to keep up with digital demand while still anchored in conventional generation, a balancing act that will define the state’s energy landscape for years.
The stakes for Georgia’s economy and climate goals
The outcome of this capacity fight will ripple far beyond utility balance sheets. Georgia has aggressively courted data centers with tax incentives, land deals, and promises of reliable power, betting that the facilities will anchor high‑tech corridors and attract related investment. If regulators approve most of the requested expansion, the state will likely cement its status as a regional hub for cloud and AI infrastructure, reinforcing the message that Georgia is open for energy‑intensive business and willing to retool its grid to match.
At the same time, the reliance on gas and extended coal operations raises hard questions about how the state will meet long‑term climate and air quality goals. While the CIR framework and other clean‑energy programs offer a path for data centers to sponsor renewables, the core system that backs them up is still dominated by fossil plants. As the commission prepares for its Dec. 19 vote, the choice is not simply whether to feed the next wave of server farms, but how to balance that growth against the costs and carbon that come with such a rapid, utility‑led expansion of capacity in Georgia.
Supporting sources: Georgia Power defends proposal for data centers, says $20 ….
More from MorningOverview