Georgia Power Proposes $16bn Plan to Add 10GW of New Generation Capacity

US utility Georgia Power and the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) have submitted a proposal to add up to 10GW of new generation capacity over the next five years. The $16 billion plan aims to meet surging demand across its footprint from the data center sector, with around 90 percent of the power intended for the sector.

Under the proposal, Georgia Power would be authorized to develop new power plants and expand its generation and storage portfolio. It would include natural gas generation, battery storage, and solar, with the majority in natural gas. If approved, it would represent one of the largest generation expansions in the state's history.

“It doesn’t mean that in 2029 residential customers will see their bills go down. What it means is that when they do all the various accounting, they promise that if we have a rate case – which we may not – that this class of customers (data centers) will put downward pressure on the costs otherwise attributed to residential customers, which is just a really long, complicated way of saying, ‘we don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Jennifer Whitfield, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center.