By Greg Bluestein, Tia Mitchell, Patricia Murphy, and Adam Beam
The all-Republican Public Service Commission will begin four days of hearings today about Georgia Power’s long-term energy plans that will have big implications for consumer power bills.
Georgia Power’s integrated resource plan (IRP) is the utility’s best guess at how much energy it needs to produce over the next two decades to meet demand. While the IRP doesn’t directly impact power bills, its energy forecast plays a key role in determining how much the state’s largest utility can charge customers.
As the AJC’s Drew Kann has reported, Georgia Power often overstates how much energy it needs. Questions about Georgia Power’s projections loom particularly large right now. A big reason for that is data centers, those power-hungry warehouses that make it possible to store photos, music and videos in the proverbial cloud. Georgia Power is forecasting data centers to make up the vast majority of its power demand growth.
The commission earlier this year passed a rule allowing Georgia Power to charge data centers higher rates. But consumer advocates worry it isn’t enough to protect Georgians from increased rates. They’re likely to be watching the commissioners this week as much if not more than company officials.
“Are they as concerned as we are that this IRP could lead to another massive and overwhelming rate increase for people in Georgia who are already struggling to pay their power bills?” asked Liz Coyle, executive director of the consumer advocacy group Georgia Watch.
Georgia Power has said its IRP “provides a comprehensive plan to support Georgia’s continued economic growth.” The company says its rates have been about 15% below the national average since 1990.