Georgia regulators have approved a contract allowing Georgia Power to serve a 3,200 megawatt data center campus that OpenAI plans to build in Effingham County. The utility announced the clearance after the Georgia Public Service Commission review period closed on August 26, ending a process that Georgia Power extended twice to supply additional information to commission staff.
The load size is the central fact. At 3.2 gigawatts, the single campus would draw more electricity than many mid sized cities, and it would rank among the largest individual customers on the Georgia Power system. The utility has classified the agreement within a growing portfolio of large load contracts, which it projects will produce roughly $950 million in annual system savings starting in 2029. Georgia Power stated that a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month should see monthly savings of about $15 by that point, or roughly $180 per year.
The mechanism behind those figures is cost allocation. Large customers that sign long term contracts with firm demand commitments contribute fixed cost recovery across the system, which the utility argues reduces the share carried by residential and small commercial accounts. Consumer advocates and environmental groups have contested that framing in filings, arguing the protections attached to the contracts do not fully shield existing customers if projected load fails to materialize.
The agreement includes a demand response provision under which OpenAI has agreed to reduce electricity use during peak grid conditions, providing up to 1,000 megawatts of flexible demand over a 25 year term. The project is expected to open in 2028.
Source: Atlanta News First - https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2026/08/27/georgia-powers-openai-contract-effingham-county-approved-expected-lower-residential-bills/