For years, Georgia Power parent Southern Co. sought to block federal rules intended to curb air pollution generated in one state that would cause problems in another. The utility giant warned the rules could hurt its customers.
But Southern chairman and chief executive Tom Fanning said Wednesday there will be “very small relative consequences to our customers” in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling this week in favor of the federal rules.
Nor will the regulations have a significant effect on profits or capital costs of Southern, Fanning told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution during a discussion of the company’s latest financial results.
He pointed out that to address other federal rules Southern has been adding pollution controls at coal plants and that it expects to close or convert several others. Georgia Power said it has a more than $5 billion environmental construction program underway.
Fanning said Southern got involved in the court case in part to push back against federal moves that might infringe on states’ regulatory powers. At the same time, Fanning is pushing for Congress to set broader energy policy rather than allow “piecemeal” regulatory pursuits.
The ruling may lead the company to shift which power plants it uses and when, Fanning said. And he said it could affect fuel costs, which are passed along to customers.
A spokesman for Georgia Power said the utility is still reviewing the ruling’s potential impact.
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