PSC chair: Georgia faces unprecedented load growth; Georgia Power files 2025 IRP

Chairman Jason Shaw of the Georgia Public Service Commission told the Special Committee on Resource Management on Friday that the state is confronting ‘‘unprecedented load growth’’ driven in large part by large data-center and other big-load customers, and that Georgia Power filed its 2025 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) on Friday.

The IRP process is the state’s long-range planning docket that looks roughly 20 years ahead; Shaw said Georgia’s IRP updates are statutorily required every three years. ‘‘I think it’s our secret sauce,’’ Shaw said of the IRP, adding that the filing this month will trigger multiple public and evidentiary hearings before the commission reaches a mid‑July decision.

The PSC chair said the initial IRP filing is large and complex: a 59‑page summary within a submission of more than 2,200 pages and thousands of pages of supporting discovery. He told the committee the PSC and its staff will prepare testimony and hold multiple hearings, and invited members of the special committee and staff to review the materials.

Why this matters: committee members said they are concerned about who bears the cost when utilities build generation, transmission and distribution to serve very large customers that may leave the state or close within a few years. Shaw described recent rule changes the PSC adopted to address those risks, allowing longer…