The Public Service Commission on Wednesday rejected a request from environmental groups to reconsider its approval of a Georgia Power plan to add huge amounts of electricity generation capacity to serve data centers.
The “petition for reconsideration” challenged the PSC’s Dec. 19 decision to “certify” almost 10,000 megawatts of new gas-burning power plants, battery storage systems and some solar to be added to Georgia Power’s fleet. The expansion — the largest in Georgia Power’s history — is set to unfold over the next five years and cost as much as $60 billion, according to some estimates. Certification is a key step that paves the way for the utility to charge customers for costs down the line.
The motion was filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center, representing Georgia Interfaith Power and Light and the Southface Institute, and the Sierra Club, on behalf of itself and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.
SELC staff attorney Bob Sherrier said the PSC’s decision to let Georgia Power “overbuild” for data centers that may never come risks saddling residential customers with billions of dollars in costs.
“It is deeply troubling if this is the magnitude of mistakes that Georgia Power and the commission are willing to overlook in the rush to lay the red carpet for data centers,” Sherrier said.
Credit: Georgia Power
Credit: Georgia Power
In hearings and filings with the commission, Georgia Power and its attorneys had blasted the groups’ motion as a last-ditch attempt to get a “second bite at the apple.”
The PSC’s own staff, whose job is to look out for the public interest, had urged commissioners to reject the motion.
In a statement, Georgia Power spokesman Matthew Kent said the company is “pleased that the commission approved staff’s recommendation, and this positive plan for customers can move forward.”
The unanimous initial vote to approve Georgia Power’s new generation resources came back in December when all five members of the commission were Republicans. Since then, two GOP commissioners were replaced by Democrats, who scored lopsided wins in November elections. Republicans still hold a 3-to-2 majority, but the vote Wednesday was the first major test of the Democrats’ persuasive powers with their GOP colleagues.
In the end, the regulators voted on party lines. Republican Chairman Jason Shaw and Commissioners Tricia Pridemore and Lauren “Bubba” McDonald denied the petition, while Democratic Commissioners Peter Hubbard and Alicia Johnson voted in favor of reconsideration.
Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com
Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com
The environmental groups contend Georgia Power’s own modeling shows not all of the new power plants it wants to add are needed. Approval of the company’s plans by the PSC violated Georgia law, the groups argued, because it was not proved that they were in the public interest, the legal standard. State law says power resources can be “certified” if they’re found to “assure an economical and reliable supply of electric power and energy.”
The petition specifically asked the PSC not to approve a gas-burning unit slated for Georgia Power’s Plant McIntosh outside Savannah, which experts have testified may be the most expensive gas unit proposed anywhere in the U.S. The groups also asked the PSC to re-evaluate roughly 2,600 megawatts of other generation assets.
A separate motion by Hubbard to deny certification of the new McIntosh combustion turbine and other gas units planned around the state was also voted down by the commission’s Republican majority.
Arguing in favor of his motion Wednesday, Hubbard said the company has not shown it has inked contracts to support all of the new power supplies it’s seeking. Approving the generation expansion anyway, he said, risks saddling non-data center customers with costs.
“There’s a great risk here that we are not protecting residential and small commercial customers,” Hubbard said.
As part of the deal approving the build out, Georgia Power has agreed to use extra revenue from data centers to put $8.50 in “downward pressure” on the average residential customer’s monthly bills. That doesn’t mean rates will drop — just that they will be $8.50 lower than they otherwise would be.
The PSC last year also approved new billing rules it said will protect residential customers from bearing data centers infrastructure costs.
Commissioner McDonald indicated he believes the company’s pledge — plus the commission’s ability to review power plant projects and potentially halt them — would shield other customers from financial risk.
Hubbard said he disagreed, because the “downward pressure” Georgia Power has promised is only for 2029 through 2031. Some of the new gas units the utility is set to build, like the one planned at Plant McIntosh, are expected to be in service for at least 45 years and paid for over decades.
“I’m not satisfied that there are adequate consumer protections in place, and if we certify those resources, then money can be spent right now for resources that are not in the public interest and that haven’t shown a legal need,” Hubbard said.
Wednesday’s vote may not be the final say in the matter. The environmental groups could appeal the decision in Fulton County Superior Court, and a spokeswoman for the SELC said the group is exploring all options.
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