Georgia Power, Public Service Commission staff agree to cut the public out of bill-making process

May 19

Customers and advocates denied access to hearings and data behind the next round of bill hikes

ATLANTA—Today, Georgia Power and the Georgia Public Service Commission Public Interest Advocacy Staff announced an agreement reached behind closed doors to settle how much Georgia’s data center boom will cost customers, shutting residents, small-business owners, and advocates out of the traditionally public process of deciding bill hikes.

About every three years, the Georgia Public Service Commission reviews Georgia Power’s books and holds a series of courtroom-style hearings to determine how much Georgia Power can charge customers. In an unprecedented move, the utility and the Public Service Commission’s staff agreed to waive the public proceeding planned for later this year. In the agreement, Georgia Power claimed “rates” will not “be adjusted,” and yet rising fossil fuel costs (passed through directly to billpayers) and recovery costs from Hurricane Helene, guarantee residential and small business customers’ bills will climb as early as May of next year.

Georgia Power previously promised an “open and transparent” regulatory process for allocating data center and Hurricane Helene costs, and a nearly $3 drop in residential rates, the utility is now asking to bypass. After six bill hikes in the last three years, customers and advocates will see no relief in the near future.

To meet the utility’s projected demand growth from data centers, Georgia Power is currently asking regulators to greenlight energy capacity close to eight times that of a single nuclear unit at Plant Vogtle. While the utility is not disclosing how it intends to meet the majority of that demand, through public statements and state filings, it’s clear that Georgia Power intends to massively increase its current capacity with methane gas and coal. This walks back the previous net-zero commitment made by Georgia Power and its parent, Southern Company, increasing the state’s reliance on climate-warming fossil fuels.

“Commission staff has given away our hard-fought bill relief from data centers. Make no mistake: Bills for residential and small business customers will rise under this agreement,” said Jennifer Whitfield, a senior attorney in SELC’s Georgia office.
“People should be concerned when decisions about their future are made outside the light of public scrutiny,” said Codi Norred, executive director of Georgia Interfaith Power and Light. “We may not see the math behind these pending bill hikes, but what we do know is this: the Public Service Commission’s staff have once again agreed to one of the highest profit margins for a company already earning record-breaking profits.”

The five elected members of the Georgia Public Service Commission must vote to approve or deny Georgia Power and their own Georgia Public Service Commission Public Interest Advocacy Staff’s settlement agreement. This month, Georgia Power announced $600 million in profits for the quarter, up 36% compared to the start of 2024. Georgia Power’s parent, Southern Company’s profits rose 19% in the first three months of 2025 compared to last year—$1.3 billion between January and March, $200 million more than it earned at the start of 2024. Southern Company’s revenues also jumped in the first quarter to $7.8 billion, an increase of 17% compared to last year.

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Georgia Interfaith Power and Light (GIPL) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that inspires and equips communities of faith to organize, implement practical climate solutions, and advocate across Georgia on issues of climate change, environmental justice, and community resilience. An affiliate of the national Interfaith Power and Light movement, GIPL envisions a Georgia where all people can flourish in a healthy environment, a stable climate, and resilient communities.

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) is one of the nation’s most powerful defenders of the environment, rooted in the South. With a long track record, SELC takes on the toughest environmental challenges in court, in government, and in our communities to protect our region’s air, water, climate, wildlife, lands, and people. Nonprofit and nonpartisan, the organization has a staff of 180, including 90 attorneys, and is headquartered in Charlottesville, Va., with offices in Asheville, Atlanta, Birmingham, Chapel Hill, Charleston, Nashville, Richmond, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit southernenvironment.org.