A new agreement between Georgia Power and Google could eventually provide an estimated $900 million in benefits to Georgia Power customers while increasing the amount of electricity generated by two of the state’s nuclear power plants.

Georgia Power and Google announced the agreement this week. It still requires approval from the Georgia Public Service Commission.

Under the proposal, Google would financially support upgrades to Georgia Power’s ownership share of nuclear generating units at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro and Plant Hatch near Baxley.

The upgrades, known as nuclear uprates, would allow the existing plants to generate more electricity through improvements to equipment including turbines, pumps, motors and cooling systems. Georgia Power says the projects would add approximately 96 megawatts of generating capacity to the state’s electric grid.

Google would subscribe to a new nuclear-energy tariff and receive credits representing the carbon-free attributes of electricity generated through the upgrades. Georgia Power says the arrangement is structured so that Google helps fund the improvements while protecting customers who are not participating in the program from the incremental costs of the work.

For Georgia Power customers in Chattooga County, the potential impact comes from what the utility says will be approximately $900 million in projected customer benefits over the remaining lives of the nuclear units. That figure is Georgia Power’s projection and remains dependent on approval of the agreement and related filings by state regulators.

Nuclear power already accounts for more than one-quarter of the electricity produced by Georgia Power. The utility operates Plant Hatch and Plants Vogtle Units 1 through 4 with other co-owners.

The proposal is now before the Georgia Public Service Commission for consideration.