Georgia’s data center boom raises questions about power, costs
Georgia is experiencing a data center boom, leading to increased electricity demand and concerns about power grid capacity and costs. The Public Service Commission has approved Georgia Power's plans to add generation and transmission capacity to support this growth. State lawmakers have proposed legislation to ensure data centers cover their own costs, but these proposals have not yet passed.
A massive new data center campus is planned for Columbia County, contributing to Georgia's significant growth in data center development, with over 80 facilities reportedly in the works across the state. This boom has raised questions about the state's power capacity and how costs associated with increased electricity demand will be managed.
Georgia Power spokesperson Amanda Sowells stated that the utility has a "customer protection pledge" to prevent residential and small business customers from bearing the costs of large load customers like data centers. She affirmed Georgia Power's commitment to strengthening the grid statewide, not just in the Atlanta area, and is building new transmission lines to support the growing demand. The Public Service Commission has approved Georgia Power's plans to add more generation and transmission capacity, including almost 10,000 megawatts of new power expected to serve large customers.
However, state lawmakers have expressed concerns that Georgia customers should not have to subsidize data center growth. Recent legislative proposals, including about 20 data center-related bills introduced this session, aimed to require data centers to "pay their own way" for industry-related power infrastructure. Despite these legislative efforts, Georgia Power is proceeding with its grid investment program.