Georgia Power has asked state regulators to approve a deal in which Google will help pay for equipment upgrades at Plant Vogtle and Plant Hatch, the utility's two nuclear generating stations. The filing, submitted this week to the Georgia Public Service Commission, would have Google subscribe to output gained from uprates at the company's share of the nuclear units at both plants. Uprates involve modifying turbines, pumps, motors, and cooling systems so existing reactors can generate more electricity without new construction. Georgia Power wants to upgrade two older reactors at Plant Vogtle, near Augusta, and two reactors at Plant Hatch, west of Savannah, and the improvements are expected to add roughly 100 megawatts of emission free capacity to the grid.
The agreement comes as Georgia Power expands generation at an unprecedented pace to keep up with a surge in data center demand across the state. Google's subscription is projected to generate about 900 million dollars in benefits for Georgia Power customers, the utility said, by spreading the cost of the upgrades across a paying commercial customer rather than the general ratepayer base. The arrangement mirrors a broader pattern among technology companies seeking direct access to nuclear generation to power artificial intelligence infrastructure and cloud computing operations. Plant Vogtle and Plant Hatch together supply a significant share of Georgia's electricity, and regulators are expected to review the uprate proposal in the coming months as part of the utility's ongoing rate case proceedings.
Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - https://www.ajc.com/business/2026/09/georgia-power-is-upgrading-its-nuclear-reactors-and-google-is-buying-the-electricity/