State PSC to resume hearings in the Georgia Power Energy Supply Plan

Atlanta – From May 27th, the managers of Georgia Power will defend the mix of energy resources that the utility for the generation of electricity against critics rely on, which say that the plan is too strong on fossil fuels and not enough on renewable power supply.

The State Public Service Commission (PSC) will hold a second hearing round, which is expected to take several days on the 2025 -integrated resource plan (IRP) by Georgia Power. The first hearing round over three days at the end of March gave companies the opportunity to outline how they meet a massive increase in demand through the growth of the powerful data centers across the state.

The new IRP calls for Georgia Power to continue to operate coal burning systems in Plant Bowen near Cartersville and Plant Scherer near Macon, which delivers about 4,000 megawatts of electricity. A megawatts are enough electricity to supply about 750 houses with electricity. The utility based in Atlanta also plans to improve existing natural gas units.

On the renewable side, the IRP proposes to add 4,000 megawatts of generation capacity from a combination of solar projects in the utility and on the roof on the battery.

However, consumer guards and environmental representative groups argue that the power of Georgia could and should give more renewable energies for the portfolio of the supply company via the 4,000 megawatts via the aging fleet of coal and gas systems according to carbon-emitting activities.

“By arbitrarily encountering solar development in his integrated resource plan, he has stored one of the most cost-effective resources for expensive fossil gas infrastructures,” said Patrick King II. “This approach ignores more sensible ways that reduce emissions, reduce the financial risk and save the money of the bill.”

According to the managers of Georgia Power, the increasing demand for electricity in order to operate “large load” customers, including data centers, it makes it critical that the coal and gas systems are retained. The IRP estimates of 2025 that the supply company will need another 8,200 megawatts of electrogenization capacity over the next six years, an increase of more than 2,200 megawatts over the projections in an updated IRP that approved the Commission a year ago.

“We need these units,” said Jeff Grubb, director of the resource planning of Georgia Power, during the hearings in March. “You are an economic way to serve the load growth that we have.”

Grubb warned that if the company does not keep up in operation, the company would have to build up new capacities for the production by 2032.

A central disagreement between Georgia Power and the critics of the IRP is whether the utility really needs so much additional generation capacity.

During the crossing of Grubb and other Georgia executives at the hearing in March, the energy supply lawyer Bobby Baker said that the pension company’s demand forecast had increased by 27 times since 2022.

“Doesn’t that have some red flags for you, an enormous jump?” Baker asked the Georgia Power Witness Panel. “Has the company not consistently overestimated the load growth?”

Baker said that the costs for the connection of capacities in Georgia Power would fall directly.

But Fernando Valle, director of forecast and analysis by Georgia Power, defended the provider’s forecast balance.

“The load forecast has always contained the best available information that we have at the time of the forecast,” he said. “Predictions of the future is naturally unsure.”

Grubb said that Georgia Power’s customers would also be on the hook if the company underestimates how much generation capacity is required.

“Undervolation is a greater risk than over,” he said. “We don’t want to be short.”

The PSC is to vote on the proposed IRP on July 15th.

This story available by a news partnership with Capitol Beat, an initiative of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.

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