With PSC hearings pending, critics pan Georgia Power's plans to increase use of fossil fuels
The QTS data center complex under development in Fayetteville, Georgia, US, on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. QTS, the data-center developer that Blackstone bankrolls, complex is expected to consume as much electricity as about a million US households leaving utility Georgia Power rushing to build the infrastructure to meet demand. Photographer: Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Georgia Public Service Commission is set to hold a second round of hearings on Georgia Power's controversial long-range plans.
The five-member utility regulator is set to vote July 15 as the state's largest utility expects to spend billions of dollars to meet skyrocketing energy demands attributed to new electricity-hogging data centers. Georgia Power's 2025 Integrated Resource Plan calls for renewable energy but also more fossil fuels.
Georgia Power has come under fire after PSC hearings in April when the company disclosed it is considering building new methane gas units to generate up to 9,000 more megawatts of capacity by 2031.
A number of environmental groups are calling on the utility to include a more diverse mix of clean, affordable energy solutions like solar power in its long-range plan instead of relying more heavily on fossil fuels.
Georgia Power's plans include upgrading the nuclear units at Plant Hatch and Plant Vogtle and the oil and gas-fired units at Plant McIntosh.
In addition, the company plans to upgrade nine hydroelectric dams throughout the state and build new transmission lines along more than 1,000 miles of power lines.
Georgia Power's plans also include the addition of 1,100 MW of renewable energy from solar and battery storage.
'The 2025 IRP provides a comprehensive plan to support Georgia's continued economic growth and allow us to serve Georgians with clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy well into the future – we look forward to continuing the process through the hearings this week,' Georgia Power spokesman Matthew Kent said.
Three days of hearings about the plan will begin Tuesday, following a proposed agreement reached between Georgia Power and the PSC to freeze base electric rates from 2026 to 2028. Some critics have argued that the proposed agreement is a political maneuver to protect Republican incumbent commissioners Fitz Johnson and Tim Echols. The PSC members are facing voters for the first time in years after a lawsuit delayed the usual six-year election cycle.
Since 2023, the average Georgia Power residential ratepayer is paying $43 more per month due to rising base electric rates, higher natural gas costs and the completion of two nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle.
In April, the Environmental Protection Agency approved a two-year exemption at the request of Georgia Power's parent Southern Company allowing Plant Bowen and Plant Scherer to bypass federal emission regulations for mercury and other air pollutants.
Georgia Power is requesting permission from the PSC to continue burning coal at Plant Scherer near Macon and Plant Bowen outside Cartersville well into the 2030s. Georgia Power planned to retire one of its Plant Scherer units by the end of 2028 and Plant Bowen's closure date is uncertain.
Georgia Power is also planning to continue to use coal and gas at Alabama's Plant Gaston for energy generation.
The commission staff filed a recommendation this month that the company should be allowed to satisfy its projected 2033 needs, which would be 5,226 MW instead of 5,989 MW.
Georgia Power's resource plan will reinforce its energy demands while also adapting to the changing regulatory environment and supply chain requirements, according to the PSC staff recommendations. The increases will provide Georgia Power with greater flexibility and time to adapt, according to the PSC staff.
Brionté McCorkle, executive director of Georgia Conservation Voters, argued that the driving reasons behind Georgia Power's fuel rate increase is the continued reliance on fossil fuels.
Georgia Conservation Voters is one of several organizations challenging the power company's models for predicting the growth of massive data centers. According to the company's projections, data centers will consume 80% of all electricity, and all customers will benefit from these facilities that support the growing use of artificial intelligence.
Critics contend that the company's projected demand is overstated and that existing ratepayers could be saddled with the cost of unnecessary electricity generating infrastructure.
'We've seen them double down on gas and coal and all of the costs from Plant Vogtle,' McCorkle said. 'All of those things have resulted in people's bills going up despite public comment for years that people want to see the power company investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency. These are measures that will not only promote clean energy, but also help save the money on their power bills.'
Georgia Power company has been criticized by environmental groups for reversing its plans to close plants Bowen and Scherer, long among the worst polluters in the region. The company is instead seeking approval from state regulators to extend the life of the two plants and expand its fossil fuel energy capacity.
Last year, Georgia regulators signed off on an amended 2022 Georgia Power plan allowing it to build new biomass power plants that will burn wood waste and other organic material to generate electricity.
Jennifer Whitfield, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, said the Georgia Power 2025 plan is unusual since there is a large amount of projected demand that is not based on proven analysis.
'How good are their projections, and are they good enough to make big resource decisions right now?' Whitfield said. 'We think that they are not and expect that next week you're going to hear from a lot of people who say their load forecasts are way too high.'
Whitfield gave credit for the Georgia Power proposal calling for significant investments in energy efficiency that can help ratepayers save money on their bills.
'I think there's going to be some exciting stuff in (the IRP), but the commission shouldn't take any action making radical decisions based on the data they have before them because the data is not good,' Whitfield said.
Neil Sardana with the Georgia Conservation Voters Education Fund said the organization will present testimony this week for how Georgia Power can reduce emissions, accelerate coal plant retirement and increase clean energy such as solar, wind and battery storage in a way that could potentially save customers $10 billion by the year 2040.
'Georgia Power could be doing a lot better when it comes to planning and developing resources for energy production that not only improves our air quality emissions and also saves everyday customers tons of money,' Sardana said.
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