In 2023, my fellow members of the Public Service Commission and I were first made aware of a massive need for power generation in Georgia spurred by a looming surge in data center construction.
Then, as now, we all agreed on the standard Georgia should apply to these incoming energy consumers: They should accept all financial responsibility for their energy usage and the infrastructure required to produce that energy.
On our end, government must show its work.
That philosophy has not changed and includes OpenAI's proposed data center in Effingham County. A contract between Georgia Power and OpenAI, reviewed and strengthened by the PSC’s Public Interest Advocacy Staff, is just the latest result of our work to fulfill our promise.
It is also one reason
the PSC will bring its Administrative Session and a special public forum to Savannah on Sept. 15. Coastal Georgians deserve to address the commissioners whose decisions affect their bills.
OpenAI’s Project Camellia illustrates both the promise and the questions of growth. The project represents an investment of approximately $20 billion and as much as 3,200 megawatts of electric demand. For reference, one megawatt is roughly the peak demand of an average-sized grocery store.
We should not romanticize data centers, but we should not demonize them either. These centers support medical records, research, financial transactions, business systems, family photographs and our interconnected world. They also require significant improvements to infrastructure.
It is imperative that Georgia requires clear standards for data center expansion.
Understanding the PSC's role
The PSC does not approve or site data centers. Those are local decisions involving zoning, development agreements, water service and other approvals. The PSC was not a party to those negotiations and has no authority to approve or reject them.
Our responsibility is to regulate Georgia Power and protect existing customers. Your PSC adopted rules requiring Georgia Power to submit to the PSC all contracts with customers who use more than 100 megawatts. With Project Camillia, PSC staff examined Georgia Power’s contract, requested more information, met repeatedly with the company and, ultimately, required Georgia Power to agree to extra protections for residential and small-business ratepayers.
Your family's budget is not the fallback plan
Under the agreement, OpenAI is responsible for the full cost of infrastructure and electric service, including fuel and other necessary services. Long-term commitments and financial assurances address risks of the customer reducing its load or leaving Georgia.
If a large-load customer terminates early, Georgia Power must notify the PSC within 15 days and cannot saddle residential or small business customers with any cost deficiencies. Instead, to recoup any lost money, Georgia Power must utilize termination payments from the data center, seek out avoided expenses, remarket power capacity and try to replace OpenAI with other customers. After that, the PSC still has the authority to require Georgia Power stockholders or other large-load customers to absorb any remaining unmet costs.
Put simply, your family's budget cannot become the fallback if a data center changes its plans.
Strengthening the grid and benefiting customers
Also in the contract, OpenAI has agreed to allow Georgia Power to reduce electricity delivered to the facility during times of high system demand. As much as 1,000 megawatts can be diverted if other customers need that energy. This agreement is the first of its kind in the nation.
Georgia Power projects that new large-load customers will generate millions annually in incremental revenue beginning in 2029. For 2029, 2030, and 2031, Georgia Power has guaranteed that revenue will create at least $15 per month in savings for a typical residential customer.
This downward pressure on rates doesn’t guarantee every bill will be exactly $15 lower. Fuel prices, weather and investments will still affect everyone’s energy costs. But growth from data centers should lighten the load on existing customers, not add to it.
The Public Service Commission will continue scrutinizing benefits and risks. PSC rules require Georgia Power to file publicly reports on large-load development, reports on its data center portfolio and a summary of each future large-load contract. The summary of the OpenAI contract was filed with the PSC on Sept. 8 and is publicly available.
Bringing the Commission to the people
On Sept. 15, the PSC will hold its Administrative Session and a public forum from 9:30 a.m. until noon at the Chatham County Administrative Building. Georgians may speak directly to the Commission. The meeting will be livestreamed on its YouTube channel.
Large-load customers must pay their own way, growth must strengthen the grid, companies must respect communities and government must show its work.
That is how Georgia can lead, not simply by growing, but by getting growth right.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Data centers must pay their way and government show its work | Opinion
