
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.

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 says a newly approved contract to provide electricity to OpenAI’s massive data center project in Effingham County will ultimately help lower costs for residential customers, but consumer and environmental advocates say significant questions remain about the unprecedented growth of data centers and how their costs will be tracked.

As data centers continue to expand across Georgia, Georgia Power is pushing back against what company officials describe as misinformation surrounding the massive facilities and their impact on residential electric customers.

With temperatures pushing into the upper 90s and heat index readings topping 100 degrees across Chattooga County and Northwest Georgia, air conditioners are working overtime — and many households are seeing the consequences when their electric bills arrive.

Georgia Power has announced a new Customer Protection Pledge, saying it is designed to keep electricity affordable while meeting the state’s rapidly growing demand for power from new industries, including data centers and manufacturers.

Republican Georgia Public Service Commission incumbent Tricia Pridemore announced Tuesday that she will not seek reelection this year, a move that adds fresh uncertainty to the balance of power on the five-member panel that regulates monopoly utilities such as Georgia Power.

Across Chattooga County and Northwest Georgia, many residents say steadily rising Georgia Power bills are placing increased pressure on household budgets, particularly for low- to moderate-income families and seniors on fixed incomes.