Georgia Data Centers Outrun the Power Grid

Georgia's AI data center boom is now demanding more electricity than the state has approved anyone to produce — and the fight over who pays for the difference has moved from utility hearings to the 2026 ballot.

Georgia Power CEO Chris Womack told shareholders that once the Effingham County OpenAI data center deal is finalized, the utility will have pledged one gigawatt more electrical capacity than regulators have approved it to provide, according to The Daily Signal.

On Monday, the Atlanta City Council approved a 23-member Data Center Task Force to study grid capacity, water, noise, the city's tax digest and ratepayer costs before Atlanta decides whether it wants the buildings at all.

The Numbers

Amy Sharma, executive director of the nonprofit Science for Georgia, told Georgia Public Broadcasting her group estimates data center electricity demand in the state at between 29 and 58 gigawatts.

For scale, she said, "A gigawatt is about the output of one nuclear reactor or half of Hoover Dam." Plant Vogtle's four reactors together produce a little over 4 gigawatts.

Sharma said Georgia has "over about 81 proposed new data centers." Only 25 of them have announced how much power they will require; 57 have listed square footage, the other way her group estimates load.

The reason the numbers jumped, she said, is the machines inside: "New data centers are the AI hyperscale data centers. AI, hyperscale AI, is very processor-intensive, which means it's very energy-intensive."

In 2025, Georgia Power won permission from the state Public Service Commission to substantially expand the electricity it generates and sells, on the strength of that projected data center demand, The Daily Signal reported.

Who Pays

That is the whole argument, and states are answering it three different ways.

Texas: make them bring their own. Between 250 and 300 proposed projects, most of them data centers, are queued for audit, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas told the Public Utility Commission. ERCOT is auditing only "Batch Zero" — proposals that already have financing and land — and Senior Vice President Chad Seely said regulators aim to finish the first batch by April 2027. Abbott's standard: "Any AI data center even thinking about coming here, they got to bring their own money, bring their own power, reuse their own water, and do it in a way that reduces the cost of electricity for residents across our state. We must eliminate the tax break they are getting."

West Virginia: take a cut. Gov. Patrick Morrisey unveiled a 20-year Responsible Data Center Development Plan this month that makes developers and utilities cover electrical infrastructure upgrades and "build, bring, or procure" their own power. Half of all revenue from hyperscale projects goes toward reducing or eliminating the state income tax; 30 percent goes to the host county, 10 percent is split among all counties, and 10 percent funds electrical, water and wastewater work, Reason reported. West Virginia has issued no tax breaks to attract the developers.

New York and Texas: stop. Both recently adopted sweeping statewide bans on new data center development, according to Reason.

Atlanta: study it first. The task force includes the mayor's sustainability and technology offices, city planning, transportation and watershed staff, MARTA, Public Service Commissioner Peter Hubbard and other stakeholders. It will hold six public meetings and two public hearings, deliver a feasibility report to Mayor Andre Dickens within 150 days and a final report 30 days after that.