Rising energy costs have become a major financial hurdle for Black Georgians in recent years, with power bills at times matching or exceeding what some in Georgia pay for their monthly rent or mortgage.

Georgia Power customers like Jennifer Morton told Macon’s 13WMAZ in July that her most-recent monthly power bill was $1,200. “We went through a couple power outages, so for me, I couldn’t figure out anything that would justify that,” Morton told the local news station. 

The Georgia Public Service Commission, which is responsible for regulating rate increases, has approved six Georgia Power rate hikes over the past two years. As a result, the average Georgia Power residential customer is paying $43 more per month, or $516 more per year, on their electric bill than they were two years ago, according to WABE.

Capital B talked with Georgia Power, sustainability activists, and PSC commissioners to better understand this surge in prices.

How is Georgia Power using the money? 

Shareholders from Georgia Power’s parent company, Southern Co., enjoyed a 43% surge in profits in the second quarter of 2024. Southern – which maintains a virtual monopoly on electric services in much of the state – earned $4.4 billion in 2024, a $400 million increase from the previous year, according to an earnings report released in February.

But Georgia Power has defended its recent rate hikes, saying its energy rates have averaged 15% below the national average since 1990. The company characterized its rate hikes as  necessary for effective long-term energy planning and for strategic investments in its power grid. The company said these investments are “one of the main reasons Georgia’s economy continues to grow and thrive.”

The company also said the largest rate hike over the past three years was put in place to recover the cost of fuel used to generate electricity after global fuel prices rose dramatically. 

“Georgia Power understands energy is a key part of every customer’s budget, which is why we work so hard to keep prices as affordable as possible,” the company said in an emailed statement. “We will continue to work with the Georgia PSC to deliver the clean, safe, reliable, and affordable energy Georgia Power customers expect and deserve.”

What role do data centers play in rising energy costs?

Georgia Power’s leaders said their rate increases are helping pay for investments into the state’s power grid so they can meet the demands of major companies expanding their business operations in the Peach State.

Much of Georgia Power’s infrastructure investment is linked to the opening of artificial intelligence-supporting data centers — buildings that typically contain thousands of computer servers. The data centers are owned by tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. 

The largest data centers need more than 100 megawatts of electricity to power their servers, enough to power an estimated 80,000 U.S. households, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. They also require water to keep them cool. Companies including Georgia Power are tasked with providing the energy and paying to build the infrastructure in the form of new power plants. 

Some tech companies have faced criticism for concentrating data center construction in Black communities, including many in metro Atlanta, which had the most data center capacity under construction in the nation last year, according to an Atlanta Regional Commission report released in November.

Activists and elected leaders have expressed concern that the costs to power the data centers or build that infrastructure may be passed on to Georgia Power customers in the form of rate hikes. The company said that new power plants and inflation, not data centers, were driving the rate hikes.

Why has the PSC approved rate increases?

The PSC is a five-member elected body that manages electric, natural gas, and telecommunications services for most of the state. One of its most crucial responsibilities is deciding how much Georgia Power can charge an estimated 2.7 million customers, which includes most ratepayers in the Atlanta region. PSC commissioners ultimately determine how much of the cost to build new power plants and other aspects of infrastructure are put on the data center owners versus residential customers.

The PSC has defended its approval of the recent rate hikes, which two commissioners said were litigated like court cases and negotiated at the lowest rate possible. 

At least one of the recent rate increases was mandated by the Georgia General Assembly, according to commissioner Fitz Johnson, who represents the Atlanta area. He blamed inflation for the rise in electricity costs.

“We don’t have to tell you what inflation was like over the last three years,” Johnson told Capital B Atlanta during a recent phone interview. “Everybody’s price went up for everything. You can’t expect the price of groceries to go up, the price of gas to go up, and then your electricity not to go up.”

But critics of the rate hikes, including McCorkle, say the hikes are taking place because the PSC is doing the bidding of utility companies instead of what’s best for their constituents. PSC commissioners have received campaign contributions from individuals employed as Georgia Power executives and from Georgia Power affiliated lobbyists and law firms. 

“Commissioners are supposed to look out for the people of Georgia, not the power company’s profits,” McCorkle said regarding current PSC commissioners. 

Georgia Power said the company itself “does not donate to PSC Commissioners or candidates, nor does its Employee Political Action Committee. Georgia Power also does not endorse political candidates.”