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Senate committee hears wide testimony on bill to codify PSC protections for very large electricity customers (100 MW+)
Summary
Senators heard hours of testimony on a substitute bill that would codify protections for large electricity customers (defined as 100 megawatts or greater), including data centers; PSC staff described tariffs that require minimum bills, long contracts and collateral, while data‑center and Georgia Power witnesses urged careful, end‑use‑neutral drafting to avoid unintended consequences.
Senators in the Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee spent the second half of the meeting on a substitute (LC560546S) offered by Senator Hufstedler to address how very large electricity customers — commonly data centers — should pay for incremental generation and transmission costs.
The substitute shifts the bill’s focus from naming "data centers" to treating "large load customers" (those of roughly 100 megawatts or more) under an end‑use neutral standard. The sponsor said the goal is to prevent homeowners and small businesses from absorbing capital costs tied to new generation built primarily to serve mega‑customers.
Why it matters: Georgia has seen rapid growth in large data centers and other high‑load facilities. The Public Service Commission has already adopted a tariff for customers of 100 MW or more that requires minimum bills, longer contract terms and performance security; the legislation would codify statutory protections, but several witnesses warned that locking detailed rate‑making in law could reduce…
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