Georgia Public Service Commission

Georgia Power $16B Integrated Resource Plan — The Georgia PSC approved Georgia Power's 2025 Integrated Resource Plan in December 2025 on a 3-2 vote. The IRP includes approximately $16B in new generation capacity (gas peakers, battery storage, and potential new nuclear) driven primarily by data center load growth in northern Georgia. The two dissenting commissioners cited ratepayer cost exposure and insufficient scrutiny of demand forecasts, which project load growth of 6,600 MW by 2031. Total ratepayer cost exposure over the plan period is estimated at $50–60B.

Reconsideration denial and judicial challenge — In February 2026, the PSC denied reconsideration of the IRP approval on a 3-2 vote, maintaining the same alignment. On March 25, 2026, a coalition of consumer groups and environmental organizations filed a petition in Fulton County Superior Court challenging the IRP approval. The petition argues the PSC failed to adequately scrutinize Georgia Power's load forecasts and that the $16B expansion plan unlawfully shifts speculative data center infrastructure costs to residential ratepayers.

Plant Vogtle cost recovery — Units 3 and 4 entered commercial operation in 2023 and 2024 at a combined cost of approximately $35B, more than double the original $14B estimate. Georgia Power is recovering Vogtle construction costs through multi-year rate increases authorized by the PSC. Ongoing regulatory audits examine construction management costs and whether any disallowances are warranted. The Vogtle experience has made the PSC and consumer advocates intensely skeptical of Georgia Power's capital cost estimates.

Data center load growth and cost allocation — Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Meta have large or expanding data center campuses in the Atlanta metro and northern Georgia corridor. Georgia Power's load forecast attributes the majority of the IRP expansion to data center growth. The PSC proceeding and the Fulton County court case center on whether the cost of new generation to serve data centers should be borne by the data centers or socialized across all ratepayers.

2026 PSC election — Peter Hubbard, one of the two dissenting commissioners on the IRP vote, faces a reelection contest in November 2026. His seat is one of five on the Georgia PSC (all elected statewide on partisan ballots). The IRP controversy has elevated the PSC election profile; utility spending on PSC races has historically been significant in Georgia.