PSC won’t delay key Georgia Power vote after Democrats’ election wins
The Georgia Public Service Commission has rejected a bid by two environmental groups to delay a key vote on whether to allow Georgia Power to execute a historic, multi-billion dollar expansion of its power generation fleet.
The groups that sought to postpone the decision — the Sierra Club and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy — were doing so, in part, so that two new Democrats elected to the PSC last week could participate in the vote.
The case at issue centers on a request filed this summer by Georgia Power to add 10,000 megawatts of new power resources over the next five years. That’s the equivalent of roughly 10 of the nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta.
Some of those megawatts will come from huge battery storage systems and new solar deployments, but the bulk would be met by new or existing natural gas plants. Burning gas produces carbon dioxide and another potent greenhouse gas, methane, and the new units would be expected to stay in service for at least 45 years.
The utility’s executives have said the overwhelmingly majority of the new resources are needed to serve data centers popping up across Georgia.
The magnitude of the request merited more time to vet the company’s plans, the groups had argued.
“The fact that this is the largest and most expensive Georgia Power resource approval in history is, itself, good cause for the Commission to allocate 30 more days for review,” the groups said in their motion.
The investments in new power plants the utility has proposed along with grid upgrades will likely run into the tens of billions of dollars. Georgia Power has vowed data centers will pay their fair share and that new billing practices will protect other customers, but at least some costs could fall to residential ratepayers.
The groups also cited the election results as part of their rationale for a delay.
The PSC is set to make a final decision in the case, one of its most consequential ones in years, on Dec. 19, just 13 days before Democrats Alicia Johnson and Peter Hubbard are set to take office Jan. 1. Johnson and Hubbard soundly defeated Republican incumbents Tim Echols and Fitz Johnson to claim two seats on the PSC, the state’s top utility regulator with oversight of Georgia Power. Right now, all five of the PSC’s members are Republicans.
Sierra Club and SACE had asked to move the vote to Jan. 20, but on Friday afternoon, PSC Chairman Jason Shaw rejected their request.
In his order, Shaw said the schedule in the case was set months ago and noted some hearings in the case have already taken place. Last month, Georgia Power executives and staff testified in support of the proposed expansion and more hearings are planned in December.
“Changing Commissioners after much of the testimony has already been heard is not conducive to good decision making,” Shaw said in his order.
Georgia Power had also said it was opposed to an extension.
Sierra Club attorney Isabella Ariza said her group was disappointed the PSC was “not willing to allow newly-elected commissioners to hear the remainder of the case, which will have impacts on ratepayers and the environment for decades to come.”
Stephen Smith, SACE’s executive director, echoed the disappointment.
“We believe this is further indication that the PSC is out of touch with the consumers they’re supposed to be protecting,” Smith 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.
