Georgia has proven time and again that it has the unique ability to temper rapid economic changes with responsible planning, ensuring we successfully navigate our state’s continuing growth.

Few industries illustrate this more clearly than the rapid rise of data centers.

These investments are large, complex, and energy intensive. They understandably raise serious questions about infrastructure, affordability, and environmental responsibility. Those questions deserve thoughtful answers, and over the past several months, Georgians have shown up to help provide them.

At recent public hearings before the PSC, my colleagues and I heard from a wide range of voices: students concerned about climate impacts, local officials focused on tax base and infrastructure, energy experts discussing grid reliability, and working men and women from the building trades who see firsthand what these projects mean for skills development, wages, and long-term opportunity.

That diversity of perspective is one of the greatest strengths of the PSC’s process. 

The Economic Reality

According to a recent analysis by the University of Georgia, data centers are already delivering economic value to Georgia. Construction activity alone has created tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic output. Once operational, these facilities significantly expand local tax bases, often transforming land that generates modest revenue into assets worth billions of dollars.

Local governments are using that revenue to build schools, upgrade water systems, and invest in communities that – for decades – lacked the tax capacity to do so. These are not abstract benefits, but tangible improvements in the lives of many Georgians.

At the same time, the UGA study makes an important point: while companies do consider Georgia’s tax incentives when choosing a location, their main decision-making factor is access to affordable, reliable electricity.

Protecting Customers from Cost Shifting 

A concern frequently raised is whether these new, large, industrial customers might add costs to existing residential or small-business ratepayers. The PSC is building guardrails to ensure this will not happen.

In some parts of the country, regulators are having to make difficult choices on how costs are allocated because rapid growth outpaced planning. Existing customers were left exposed to risks they did not create.

Georgia, on the other hand, planned early and continues working to protect ratepayers while allowing for reasonable growth.

Georgia’s regulatory framework is designed specifically to prevent cost shifting. The PSC has ensured large customers like data centers are required to pay rates that reflect the full cost of serving them – including infrastructure, capacity, and long-term system impacts. These safeguards exist so that families and small businesses are not asked to underwrite infrastructure they won’t use.

Reliability Is Not Optional

Reliable electricity is foundational for a modern economy. Hospitals, manufacturers, logistics networks, households, and now data centers all depend on it. As demand grows, planning for new power generation and infrastructure must be done carefully, deliberately, and transparently.

After months of financial analysis and several public hearings, the PSC recently approved a significant expansion of Georgia Power’s energy production infrastructure, specifically new natural gas and solar/battery systems. The increase in power generation is unprecedented, but the PSC has an obligation to ensure the lights stay on, prices remain stable, and Georgia remains competitive.

The choice is not between economic growth and environmental stewardship. Nor is it between innovation and affordability. The challenge is to balance all of the above, using facts not hyperbole.

In our public hearings, Georgia Power produced hard evidence of the rapid need for new electric generation. Over the next 10 months, Georgia Power will sign contracts with enough large-load customers, such as data centers, to use all the approved facilities.

Some have suggested that data centers may not come to Georgia quickly enough to utilize all the certified new power generation. The evidence I have seen says otherwise. Regardless, in the unlikely event the need for new electricity does not materialize, the PSC has the flexibility to adjust its course, and to do it quickly.

The PSC can direct Georgia Power to suspend new power generation projects that have not started. We can close other plants early. We can end purchase power agreements with other states, and we can tell Georgia Power to sell excess electricity on the open market.

With the current rate freeze and financial backstops guaranteed by Georgia Power, Georgia would have five years to make needed adjustments. This will ensure current ratepayers will not be on the hook, even if Georgia Power’s many forecast models are wrong.

A Proven Regulatory Model

Georgia’s economic success is the product of a regulatory framework that values long-term planning, cost discipline, and accountability. Our model has helped deliver some of the most affordable electricity rates in the nation while supporting growth across manufacturing, logistics, and technological infrastructure.

Our model works because it insists on forethought and responsibility. Infrastructure investments must be justified, and protections for existing ratepayers must remain central to every decision.

Listening to Working Georgians

As we planned for this needed expansion, one of the most compelling perspectives offered during our hearings came from representatives of Georgia’s skilled trades. Electricians, HVAC technicians, and construction professionals reminded us that data centers are not just steel, wires, and servers. They are training grounds for the next generation of skilled workers.

These projects operate around the clock and require highly trained personnel to build and maintain them. That translates into apprenticeships, certifications, and steady, high-quality jobs that cannot be outsourced. For many young Georgians, these projects represent a pathway into the middle class.

Moving Forward with Confidence

Data centers are not a passing trend. They are part of the backbone of a modern economy. The question is not whether Georgia should welcome them, but how.

By listening to diverse voices, insisting on reliability, preventing cost shifting, and remaining anchored to a proven regulatory framework, Georgia will continue to lead.

Economic growth and responsible regulation are not opposing forces. When done right, they reinforce each other. Georgia has proven this before, and there is every reason to believe we will continue down this path.

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Jason Shaw is the Chairman of the Georgia Public Service Commission, a resident of Lowndes County, and previously served four terms in the Georgia General Assembly