Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026
Good morning! The hyperscale data center proposed for Effingham County continues to command attention, including in Coast Watch, where we have two stories related to the facility’s predicted energy demand. We also bring news of a PSC Commissioner calling it quits early. And after hearing the sad news of Dolly Parton’s death on Tuesday, we’d be remiss if we didn’t check out her typically Dolly take on the environment.
Questions, tips or concerns? Send me a note at mary.landers@thecurrentga.org
NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
Ga. Power/OpenAI to finalize deal
Georgia Power is set to finalize a deal with OpenAI today to supply electricity for a 3.2 gigawatt hyperscale data center proposed for Effingham County, as The Current GA’s Mary Landers reports. The utility delayed the secret agreement just long enough to resolve any staff objections before the PSC meets again, a move clean energy advocate Patty Durand said effectively “disempowered commissioners.”
Commissioner Peter Hubbard said staff added ratepayer protections, but they require a PSC willing to enforce them. The contract is a big one that deserved more scrutiny, he said.
“The magnitude of this contract, the single contract, it is far larger than what we typically approve in the commission under integrated resource plans when we’re planning out 20 years into the future for load growth, Hubbard said in an interview with The Current GA.
NEWS: ENVIRONMENT
Friday night bites
A strangely timed public hearing — on a Friday evening at the start of football season — and an incomplete application are just two of the anomalies critics see with the air pollution permit Georgia Power is seeking for the expansion of Plant McIntosh in Effingham County.
The monopoly utility is planning for two new gas- and oil-fired units at the Rincon site on the Savannah River to help power the surge of data centers across the state, including Effingham’s proposed massive 3.2 gigawatt OpenAI facility, as The Current GA’s Mary Landers reports.
NEWS: GOVERNING
PSC commissioner splits
Georgia Public Service Commissioner Tricia Pridemore last week announced her resignation effective Sept. 4 following a failed congressional bid, as WABE reports. Gov. Brian Kemp named former commissioner Stan Wise to fill the remainder of Pridemore’s term through Dec. 31. Pridemore’s tenure included approving several rate increases for Georgia Power customers, amidst growing public frustration over rising energy costs.
Democrat Shelia Edwards and Republican Josh Tolbert are vying for Pridemore’s seat in November.
Also noted
Dolly Parton, who died Tuesday at age 80, wasn’t widely known for her environmental opinions, but when she expressed them it was with typical Dolly pithiness. “We’re just mistreating Mother Nature—that’s like being ugly to your mama,” she told National Geographic in 2022. RIP Dolly, and thanks for the Smoky Mountain Memories.
Only two tropical storms, Arthur and Bertha, have popped up so far this year. But hurricane forecasters are warning against complacency as we approach the peak of storm season in September, Georgia Recorder’s Ross Williams reports.
The Georgia Public Service Commission is taking a rare road trip to Savannah. Its next administrative meeting/public forum will be from 9:30 a.m. – noon, Tuesday, Sept. 15 at the Chatham County Administrative Building, 124 Bull St., Savannah. At the public forum, Georgians will have the opportunity to address the Commission with any comments or concerns. Each participant will be limited to three minutes. Like all meetings of the PSC, the session and forum will be live streamed on the Commission’s YouTube page.
Some of Georgians’ favorite places to immerse themselves in nature face a new threat, Environment Georgia reports. The U.S. Forest Service filed a proposed rule in the Federal Register last week to support its proposal to stop protecting nearly 45 million acres of “inventoried roadless areas” from road-building and logging.
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PSC deadline arrives for Georgia Power’s 3.2-gigawatt OpenAI data center contract
Georgia Power is expected to finalize a deal with OpenAI on Wednesday to supply electricity for a 3.2 gigawatt hyperscale data center in Effingham County, following a regulatory review process involving the Georgia Public Service Commission staff.
Advocates scrutinize plans for Plant McIntosh expansion
Critics raised concerns about inconvenient timing and an incomplete application during a public hearing regarding Georgia Power’s proposal to expand Plant McIntosh to support local data center growth.
Pridemore to resign from Georgia Public Service Commission
Georgia Public Service Commissioner Tricia Pridemore announced her resignation effective Sept. 4, leaving her seat open for Governor Brian Kemp to fill until the winner of the upcoming November election is sworn in.
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