Georgia Power's agreement to supply electricity to a planned OpenAI campus near Savannah is drawing scrutiny from state regulators and reviving debate over how residential customers are protected from the cost of serving very large facilities.
The proposed $20 billion data center complex, which OpenAI calls Project Camellia, is expected to cover hundreds of acres in an Effingham County industrial park about 30 minutes outside Savannah. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution described it as one of the largest economic development projects in Georgia history and reported that it is slated to become the single largest electricity user in the state.
The contract surfaced at a Georgia Public Service Commission committee meeting, where commissioners questioned both the scale of the power commitment and the confidentiality around it. Commissioner Alicia Johnson, a Savannah Democrat, said an arrangement of that size warrants rigorous review.
OpenAI has said the campus will be served by Georgia Power with capacity delivered in phases, and that the company will pay the full cost of the infrastructure and electric service required so existing residential customers do not subsidize the project. OpenAI has also committed $80 million in community benefits directed toward local education, public safety, healthcare, and small business support, and says the facility will run a closed-loop water system that recycles water.
Effingham County is located northwest of Savannah along the Interstate 16 corridor.
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - https://www.ajc.com/business/2026/08/georgia-power-deal-to-serve-20b-openai-data-center-under-regulators-microscope/