Georgia electricity costs rise amid data center boom

Axios

a day ago

Electricity costs are rising in Georgia and across the country — and could get even higher for some amid the explosion in data centers powering AI and more.
Why it matters: Surging power bills could further stress many Americans' budgets as pretty much everything else gets more expensive, too.
By the numbers: Georgia's average retail residential price for 1 kilowatt-hour of electricity rose from 14.93 cents to 15 cents between May 2024 and May 2025, per the latest available data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a gain of about 0.5%.
That statistic includes all utilities, not just Georgia Power, which provides electricity to 2.8 million ratepayers, mostly in metro Atlanta.
Context: Georgia Power residential customers using more than 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity are paying roughly $43 more monthly to turn on their lights compared with 2023, Georgia Recorder reports.
That increase has helped pay for Plant Vogtle's two new over-budget nuclear reactors and fuel costs.
Add a July with record-high temperatures and it becomes clearer why some customers saw their electricity bills double or triple.
Caveat: In July, the Georgia Public Service Commission approved a plan to keep Georgia Power rates stable through 2028.
However, the utility next year will ask the regulators to pass clean-up costs related to Hurricane Helene and other storms on to customers.
Zoom in: Georgia Power wants to add 9,000 megawatts of capacity by 2031 to handle a (potentially overestimated) data center boom, according to Georgia Recorder.
80% of that new electricity would be consumed by data centers and generated mostly using fossil fuels.
The intrigue: In January, the PSC approved a rule change that the utility regulator says would protect residential ratepayers from surges in demand from data centers.
A bill to codify that policy, which consumer advocates say could provide ratepayers with greater protections, passed out of committee during the most recent Georgia General Assembly but did not receive a full vote.
The bottom line: Many of us are paying for the AI boom, whether we use the tech or not.