Andy Li, andy.li@sierraclub.org
ATLANTA - After another week of hearings on Georgia Power’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) and its rate case settlement proposal, Georgia residents are still left in the dark about the company’s plans to build fossil fuel plants, and worry about the future of their energy bills.
The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) held two days of hearings on the IRP this week, during which representatives for Georgia Power continued to present their claims that a data center and AI boom will contribute to massive growth in the coming years, without assessing the risks of what would happen if data centers don’t show up. Furthermore, Georgia Power continues to hide behind procurement processes to avoid disclosing where 9 GW of energy it says it will need in the next few years will come from.
“As Georgians suffer under the ongoing heatwave, it’s disgraceful that Georgia Power cannot adequately plan for coal plant retirements or give sufficient evidence to support its data center projections,” said Lexy Doherty, Campaign Organizing Strategist with the Sierra Club. “With millions of dollars of ratepayer money– and the bills of everyday ratepayers– at stake, the PSC cannot allow Georgia Power to leave the public in the dark.”
On Thursday, the PSC heard from representatives for Georgia Power and PSC Staff on its rate case settlement proceedings. Sierra Club’s expert John Wilson condemned the lack of transparency around the rushed rate case process.
Georgia Power seems to have one play in its playbook: keep its plans a secret and hope a captured PSC rubber stamps its proposals. The public isn’t getting the full picture in the IRP or this rushed rate case process, leaving them in the dark about where their electricity will come from and how much they will eventually have to pay for it. By fast tracking the hearings, Georgia Power and the PSC are not properly assessing how large load customers like data centers will impact everyday customers’ bills.
During the Thursday rate case hearing, Georgia Power insisted on saying its rates will remain “stable” although customers will see an increase from a new storm recovery docket in 2026. Additionally, because of the rushed nature of this rate case process, Georgia Power does not have to disclose a cost of service study that would identify how each customer class pays for service and would ensure large load customers are paying their fair share. The PSC must demand transparency from Georgia Power to protect residents from unclear plans.
Georgia Power may describe its so-called ‘rate freeze’ as relief for families, but in reality, it's all smoke and mirrors. How will paying for Hurricane Helene damages impact residents? How much will fuel costs, paid for entirely by ratepayers, rise if we build more methane-gas burning turbines to meet the growing demand for electricity? True relief for Georgia families would be to demonstrate a downward pressure on rates– as Georgia Power promised as part of the 2023 IRP Stipulation– and reduce Georgia Power’s rate of return, but both the utility and the commissioners are uninterested in having a real discussion about it.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.