In Savannah, Georgia’s utility regulators faced public wrath over data centers

Georgia's Public Service Commission held a rare meeting outside Atlanta, traveling to Savannah at the urging of Commissioner Alicia Johnson to hear from coastal residents about rate hikes and data center contracts. Much of the anger centered on Georgia Power's contract with OpenAI for a planned Effingham County data center, the largest single-customer contract the utility has reported since 2024.

Speakers accused the commission of serving Georgia Power and OpenAI rather than the public, with one resident noting the panel's name is the Public Service Commission, not a corporate one. Commissioners responded that their authority only covers data centers that choose Georgia Power as a utility, directing residents to local officials for broader concerns, while PSC chair Jason Shaw acknowledged Georgia Power needs to disclose more unredacted information about its contracts.

Two PSC seats are on the November ballot, and if Democrats win both, the party would hold a majority on the commission for the first time in decades. Democrats Peter Hubbard and Johnson already unseated Republican incumbents last year in an election focused on rate increases, though they remain in the minority.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.