Fears over higher rates as Georgia moves to provide more electricity for AI datacenters [View all]

Source: The Guardian

Georgia is facing the largest demand for electricity in its history, driven by nation-leading datacenter construction.

The Georgia Power company has made an unprecedented bid to the agency that oversees the utility for about 10 additional gigawatts of energy in the coming years – enough to power 8.3m homes, at an estimated cost of nearly $16bn, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center.

But those huge numbers are not primarily for homes or local businesses in Georgia. Instead about 80% of the company’s ask is driven by datacenters, primarily for artificial intelligence, according to Tom Krause, spokesperson for the state’s public service commission, or PSC.

It is the largest increase ever considered by the commission in a multiyear plan and comes as the Atlanta metro area led the nation in datacenter construction last year – a phenomenon playing out across the US and increasingly sparking protests and pushback. The PSC’s five members will be charged with deciding how much energy the state needs, when it’s needed and the best way to meet that need, Krause said.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/19/georgia-electricity-datacenters