Residents press county on data-center deals, NDAs and potential rate impacts

Several residents used the Dec. 16 public comment period to raise concerns about data centers, transmission infrastructure and the county's transparency in negotiations with developers.

Susan Warren said Georgia Power materials and a proposed stipulation before the Public Service Commission would lead to large build-outs of generation and transmission driven in part by data-center demand. Citing figures she attributed to Georgia Power, Warren described proposals that include more than 3,600 megawatts of combined-cycle natural gas generation and thousands of megawatts in battery energy storage and purchase agreements; she warned that much of the cost of broad transmission upgrades could ultimately fall to residential ratepayers.

Warren asked the county directly: "How many NDAs have you signed with data center developers, tech center developers, or even query operators?" She said developers often cite NDAs to limit public disclosure about projects and contracts. Warren also questioned whether stipulations would be legally binding and observed that new PSC commissioners were not present for a pending decision, noting stakeholder requests to postpone votes.

Other commenters linked the county's development strategy and library decisions, expressing distrust and saying the public needs more transparency about rezoning and long-term plans. The commission did not take immediate action on disclosure or NDA policy during the meeting; staff responded to at least some technical questions about PSC process and Georgia Power engineering studies but did not provide an inventory of NDAs on the record.

No formal county vote on NDAs or data-center transparency occurred at the Dec. 16 meeting.