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Senate committee hears arguments that data‑center buildouts risk shifting billions in grid costs onto residential customers
Summary
Witnesses told the Senate Regulated Industry Committee that current PSC approvals and contract frameworks may leave Georgia Power customers exposed if data‑center demand falls short; experts urged a statutory backstop to prevent large‑load costs from being shifted to residential and small‑business ratepayers.
The Senate Regulated Industry Committee held extended testimony on SB34 and a committee substitute that would limit when utilities can place costs associated with serving large‑load customers, such as data centers, onto residential and retail customers.
A sponsor (S8) framed the substitute as a set of contract protections—minimum billing, credit and termination provisions—between utilities and large‑load customers. The sponsor argued that the substitute does not, in his view, go far enough because it omits provisions that would more directly prohibit cost‑shifting to residential customers.
Bob Cherrier, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, told the committee that the commission’s existing contracting scheme leaves…
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