Summer of Advocacy 2026: Counting the Cost, Claiming Our Power

Aerial photo of Georgia Power's Plant Yates in Coweta County, courtesy of David Tulis / SouthWings / Southern Environmental Law Center, showing active construction of new methane gas combustion turbine units, with cranes, industrial infrastructure, and a tall smokestack visible amid surrounding green forest. Overlaid on the image is the Georgia Interfaith Power and Light "Power Trip: Summer of Advocacy" campaign logo, featuring a blue electrical plug icon forming the letter O in "Power," a winding road graphic forming part of the word "Trip," the GIPL logo, and a yellow sun icon above the words "Summer of Advocacy.

Written by Tykivious Grier, GIPL South Georgia Organizer.

There is scripture from my own Christian tradition that reminds us that before anything is built, there must first be a counting of the cost (Luke 14:28). Not just the financial cost, but the spiritual, communal, and generational cost of our decisions. In this season, we are asking a deeper question:

What is the true cost of fossil fuels, and who is paying for it?

For too long, our communities, especially in rural Georgia, have carried a burden that was never meant to be ours alone. We see it in rising utility bills that strain working families. We see it in homes that are underweatherized, where energy inefficiency becomes a cycle of hardship. We see it in environmental conditions that disproportionately impact black, brown, and low-income communities.

And yet, in the midst of these realities, I have also witnessed something else: resilience, faith, and the power of organized people.

As someone who has organized at the grassroots level, helping secure weatherization funding in Albany and gathering neighbors for listening sessions across South Georgia, I have sat in rooms where stories were heavy, but hope was present. I have heard elders talk about choosing between medicine and their light bill. I have worked alongside pastors who are ready to turn their churches into hubs of sustainability and stewardship. I have helped facilitate conversations about the proposed SSE4 pipeline, in which communities are asking hard questions about land, safety, and long-term impact. I have engaged in discussions on biomass, where the promise of renewable energy must still be weighed against environmental and community consequences. And now, we are seeing the rapid rise of data centers across Georgia, bringing new energy demands that will affect not just one city, but the entire state.

This is no longer a localized issue. This is a statewide moment.

That’s why, starting this month, Georgia Interfaith Power & Light will embark on a “Power-Trip” across Georgia, helping faithful Georgians see the power of their voice in conversations about power.  

This 2026 Summer of Advocacy begins with a virtual kickoff next week during our Green Team Roundtable on May 12. I and GIPL’s Organizing Director, Marqus Cole, will help ground the vision in faith and strategy, and equip advocates like you in better understanding not only the systems we are challenging, but the power we hold collectively.

Then, throughout the summer, we take this movement on the road. Our Power Trip on The True Cost of Fossil Fuels will travel to key cities, including Columbus, Macon, Albany, Augusta, and Savannah, meeting people where they are.

These gatherings will not just be presentations; they will be spaces of truth-telling, education, and mobilization.

We will break down how fossil fuel dependence impacts our health, our finances, and our future. We will also connect the dots around local impacts of pipelines, biomass facilities, and high-energy demand data centers, and how they are shaping policy decisions, infrastructure investments, and ultimately, what shows up on our utility bills.

We will also continue to offer ways to engage the Public Service Commission, ensuring that our communities are not just spoken for, but are speaking for themselves. Through public comments, storytelling, and collective action, we will bring faith into the public square in a way that is both prophetic and practical.

And just as we have done before, we will center this work in faith, because this is not just policy work, it is moral work. From pulpits to community centers, from classrooms to kitchen tables, this movement is growing. And as it grows, so does our responsibility to ensure that progress does not come at the expense of the most vulnerable among us.

This is about stewardship. This is about justice. This is about accountability. This is about legacy. Because when we begin to count the true cost, we also begin to recognize the true power we carry.

Find the most up-to-date list of Power Trip dates and locations at gipl.org/advocate.