Feel like your Georgia Power bill is high this summer? Here’s why.
When Audra Daniels’ family moved to Valdosta this year, she expected they might pay more for electricity in hot, humid South Georgia than they had in Idaho.
Daniels and her husband, who serves in the Air Force, moved into a 1,700-square-foot home in February with their four children. Based on their real estate agent’s estimates, they expected to pay about $200 a month for power. When their June bill showed they owed Georgia Power $450, they were stunned.
For weeks, they tried to find a solution: They kept the thermostat at 78, covered windows, installed insulation and even hired an electrician to investigate. But when their next bill came, it was even higher: $505. Daniels said they had to dip into savings they’d set aside for Christmas gifts to pay it off.
“We were just really discouraged,” she said.
Her family is not alone.
On platforms like Facebook, X and Nextdoor, Georgia Power customers are voicing shock and anger at the $700, $800 and even $1,000-plus bills some say they have received this summer.
Georgia Power spokesperson Jacob Hawkins said the company’s employees are customers, too, and “understand the impact of energy bills, especially during extreme weather.”
Indeed, July was an exceptionally hot month — one of the warmest on record for parts of the state.
But other factors also explain the high bills.
Rate hikes
Georgia Power customers’ bills have gone up sharply because of a series of rate hikes approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission, the state’s utility regulator.
The increases were to pay for the way-over-budget expansion of Plant Vogtle, the nuclear power station near Augusta, and to cover the cost of fuel used at the utility’s power plants. A series of three other rate increases have kicked in each January since 2023. Those have all combined to push bills higher.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
The upshot is a Georgia Power residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month now pays $43 more for power than in 2022, according to data from the company. For customers who use more electricity, the actual bill increases could be much larger.
According to Georgia Power’s data, the utility’s average monthly bill for a residential customer for the full year is now $171. The average in the month of July — usually the hottest month of the year in Georgia — is significantly higher, about $266.
Exactly how those costs stack up to other states and power companies is hard to say.
Electricity rates have been on the rise nationally since 2022 and are expected to keep climbing at least through 2026, according to the federal Energy Information Administration.
Georgia Power says its rates have been 15% below the national average since 1990. But there are other charges included in customers’ bills beyond the base rates.
The most recent full year of bill data available from the EIA is from 2023 and includes customer bills from all of Georgia’s electric utilities, not just Georgia Power.
PSC commissioners, all Republicans, who voted for the rate increases said they have tried to strike a balance between reliability and affordability.
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chairman Jason Shaw said other states have experienced blackouts because utilities are unable to meet electricity demand. Georgia has not.
“Georgia’s long-term energy planning has helped us to meet our growing needs and has helped us avoid service interruptions,” he said.
Commissioners Tim Echols and Fitz Johnson, who are running for reelection this fall, both acknowledged the high bills some are facing.
Echols said the PSC has taken steps “to mitigate the unequal impact on the poorest Georgians,” like expanding discount programs for seniors and low-income customers.
Johnson pointed to the effects of inflation and rising electricity demand, adding that the commission has “worked hard to make certain the lights come on when Georgians flip the switch.”
Earlier this summer, the PSC voted to keep the company’s current rates steady through 2028. The move averted the possibility of more rate hikes, for now.
Georgia Power will ask the PSC early next year to allow it to collect damages caused by Hurricane Helene and other storms from ratepayers. It’s possible those expenses, along with the company’s fuel costs, could push customers’ bills up again. But if they do, it’s not yet clear how much.
Summer rates
Before the rate increases, Georgia Power customers already paid more for electricity in summer, when demand is highest.
That has continued.
From October to May, ratepayers on the utility’s standard residential plan pay 8.1 cents for each kilowatt-hour of electricity they use. Between June and September, the price rises to 8.6 cents per kWh for the first 650 kWh consumed, then to 14.3 cents for each kWh up to 1,000. Above that level, the cost for each kWh jumps again to 14.8 cents.
Any usage above the 650 and 1,000 kWh thresholds can push power bills up in a hurry.
Extreme heat
Then there’s the heat.
Georgia summers have always been hot, but they’re getting hotter, as human-caused climate change loads the dice in favor of higher temperatures.
That influence was felt in July.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Temperatures for the month were about 2 degrees above normal across most of the Peach State, according to the National Weather Service. In Atlanta, the average temperature in July was 84.3 degrees, which is 3.4 degrees hotter than normal, NWS data shows. Late in the month, Macon and Columbus both hit 102 degrees, tying daily record highs.
Air conditioners consume more electricity than any other appliance in the steamy Southeast. The record or near-record heat forced many units to work overtime to cool homes, pushing bills even higher.
Hawkins, the Georgia Power spokesperson, urged customers to keep tabs on their electricity consumption throughout the month with the company’s “My Power Usage” tracker. The company also encourages customers to use other energy-saving strategies, like grilling outside and regularly servicing A/C systems.
It will be 2028 before Georgia Power brings its next major “rate case” to the PSC for approval, offering customers a reprieve from rate hikes. But Liz Coyle, executive director of the consumer advocacy nonprofit Georgia Watch, notes that also means customers are “locked in” to the current rates for three more years.
Coyle said she fears the bill pain customers have felt this summer will be the norm for the foreseeable future.
“As average seasonal temperatures continue to rise, people will keep seeing these spikes, even when they take measures to try to lower the impact on their household budgets,” Coyle said.
About the Author
Drew Kann is a reporter at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution covering climate change and environmental issues. His passion is for stories that capture how humans are responding to a changing environment. He is a proud graduate of the University of Georgia and Northwestern University, and prior to joining the AJC, he held various roles at CNN.
