Andy Li, andy.li@sierraclub.org
ATLANTA - In a year filled with deception and broken promises, Georgia Power is now one of the dirtiest utilities in the nation, according to a report released by the Sierra Club today.
Georgia Power received an F in the 2025 edition of The Dirty Truth About Utility Climate Pledges, the third consecutive year it has received an F from analysts reviewing utility planning. Compared to utilities nationwide, Georgia Power is currently planning the largest load growth in the nation at 89,044 gigawatt-hours. But that growth is only marginally fueled by clean, renewable energy – instead, Georgia Power is relying on dirty methane gas and costly coal plants, even pushing back the promised retirement dates of coal plants Bowen and Scherer. In addition to keeping coal online, Georgia Power is currently requesting approval for a massive, unprecedented gas buildout.
In an interactive webpage, Georgians can see their utility’s score and what progress – if any – the utility has made toward transitioning to cleaner, more affordable energy since the first version of the report in 2021.
“Georgia Power places the blame for the exponential load growth on the data center boom coming to Georgia. But it was Georgia Power that made the decision to power these projects with 19th century fossil fuels,” said Adrien Webber, Sierra Club Georgia Chapter Director. “Georgia Power and Big Tech companies behind these data centers must prioritize sustainable energy solutions that protect Georgians. We cannot afford for our future to be powered by coal and methane gas. Our health, our communities, and our energy bills need clean energy solutions for a sustainable, renewable future.”
Coal and methane gas are dirty fossil fuels, creating deadly pollution for the communities near these energy plants and contributing to the ongoing climate crisis. Georgia is already feeling the effects of the climate crisis, with communities still recovering from Hurricane Helene and recent floods and wildfires. Georgians are already burdened by the highest utility bills in the nation, choosing to expand our fossil fuel infrastructure is a costly decision that will inevitably raise our bills further.
Georgia Power’s parent company, Southern Company, has some of the worst grades in the entire nation. All three of its subsidiaries– Georgia Power, Alabama Power, and Mississippi Power– received Fs in the 2025 Dirty Truth report. All three have coal plants still operating, with plans to keep many operating well into the 2030s or beyond. None of them will reach their individual climate goals, and neither will Southern Company.
Across all 75 utilities reviewed in the Dirty Truth report, the Southern Company subsidiaries scored an aggregate of 15 out of 100 points, earning an F. This marks the lowest score since the first year of this report in 2021, and the first time the score has ever dropped below the score it received in the inaugural report.
“It is alarming that for the first time since 2021, utilities are regressing on their clean energy transition,” said Sierra Club Chief Program Officer Holly Bender. “By adding more gas and keeping costly coal plants online, utility companies are ignoring renewable energy—the cheapest form of energy—and forcing their customers to pay more. As energy costs rise and extreme weather becomes more frequent, now is the time to phase out polluting, volatile, expensive fossil fuels and invest in stable, reliable, and affordable, clean energy.”
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.