Georgia Power deal to power OpenAI data center is approved, with some fine print

“Our staff attorneys, engineers and financial analysts have ensured this contract has some of the strongest residential ratepayer protections in the nation,” Republican PSC Chairman Jason Shaw said in a statement.

Commissioner Alicia Johnson, a Democrat from Savannah, said in a statement that she felt assured that the agreement contains the “appropriate safeguards.”

“Based on the record before us, I believe this agreement provides meaningful protections against shifting the costs and risks associated with this project onto Georgia’s residential and small-business customers,” she said.

‘Big problems … with the contracts’

Though Georgia Power’s deal with OpenAI has been under the microscope behind the scenes, the public has not — and likely won’t ever — see what’s in the actual contract.

Like each of the other six contracts Georgia Power has filed under the PSC’s data center rules, the public version of the utility’s OpenAI agreement is completely redacted. Georgia Power frequently conceals large chunks of its filings, claiming the information is “trade secret” and that its public release could put the company at an economic disadvantage.

Wednesday’s move won’t force the utility to divulge any fine print, but it does institute new provisions that could increase transparency.

Going forward, Georgia Power will have to provide semiannual public reports on the performance of its data center customer portfolio. The utility also agreed to release a summary of each large load contract it inks, but it was unclear how detailed the filings will be.

A public summary of the OpenAI contract is expected in early September.

Meanwhile, Georgia Power executives and some PSC commissioners have for months touted Georgia’s rules for data center contracts as the industry-leading standard. But with the commission now adding new terms and clarifying others, critics say it raises questions about how well regulators have managed the explosive energy demands data centers are bringing to the Peach State.

Bob Sherrier, an attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, called the OpenAI deal a “step in the right direction,” but said there’s “more to do to protect Georgians.”