Georgia Power's request for more electricity comes under fire

Georgia Power Co.'s Plant Vogtle nuclear power plant is shown Friday, Jan. 20, 2023, in Waynesboro, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

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Georgia’s energy regulators are considering Georgia Power’s request to generate and buy more electricity to meet what the utility calls a surge in demand from new businesses in the state. State lawmakers, meanwhile, are grappling with a leading source of that increased power demand: high-tech data centers.

Georgia Power says the spike in demand is so high and will be needed so soon that it needs to rapidly add sources of electricity to the grid, so it has filed an update to its long-range power plan, known as the Integrated Resource Plan or IRP. The company is seeking approval to buy electricity from other utilities, build new gas and oil turbines at an existing power plant and build new solar and battery storage.