Georgia Power reported a significant reduction in its pipeline of large load economic development projects, which dropped by a net 6 gigawatts (GW) from the second quarter to the third quarter, leaving the total at 50.9 GW. This decline can be attributed to the exit of several projects from the pipeline, as detailed in a filing to the Georgia Public Service Commission on Friday.
Despite this reduction, the situation is somewhat alleviated by the entry of 6.8 GW of new large load projects, as well as an increase of 1.6 GW in the projected load of projects already in the pipeline. However, 14.3 GW of projects exited during this period. Additionally, the forecast for near-term large load projects aimed for winter 2028 and 2029 also saw a decrease of 1.4 GW, totaling 24.4 GW.
Georgia Power noted a positive trend in customer commitments, with an increase from 26 to 28 large load customers. Collectively, these projects account for 2.2 GW, bringing the total commitments to 11 GW. Since the last quarter, five new customers have commenced construction, signaling an increase in long-term load projection from 3,721 megawatts (MW) in Q2 2025 to 7,313 MW in Q3 2025.
Out of the 28 committed projects, 18 have already broken ground, while 10 are pending construction. This progress indicates that large load customers are actively moving forward without significant delays. Georgia Power emphasized that the projects already underway represent 6,175 MW of the total 7,800 MW of customer commitments expected for winter 2028/2029.
In contrast, testimony filed by the Public Service Commission’s public interest advocacy staff on November 12 raised concerns regarding potential increases in monthly bills for Georgia Power’s residential customers should the utility complete its planned generation buildout to accommodate new data centers. The testimony argues that a considerable portion of the new generation plans lacks firm contractual backing, highlighting that only about 1,900 MW are secured by contracts. The remaining capacity is regarded as speculative, which poses a risk of stranded costs if anticipated loads fail to materialize.
The commission’s staff also noted that the performance of data centers has fallen short of expectations due to various factors, including project cancellations and delays. Since the 2023 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) update, 33 data center projects totaling 11,332 MW of announced load have been removed from the pipeline, representing approximately 55% of all project removals. On average, around five data center projects have exited the pipeline each quarter, raising questions about whether Georgia Power’s planning models adequately account for this trend of project reductions.
As the utility navigates these challenges, the ongoing commitments from new customers and the construction of active projects may provide a degree of stability and optimism for Georgia Power’s future growth and infrastructure development.