Impact of Fossil Fuels is Key in Review of Georgia Power Resource Plan
Reliance on dirty, costly fossil fuels undermines the utility's commitment to transition to a low-carbon future and will continue to force Georgians to foot the bill for these fossil fuel infrastructures.
Atlanta, GA — Georgia Power filed its 2025 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) with the Georgia Public Service Commission this morning. An IRP is filed as part of an electric utility’s resource planning process, which plans what power plants and demand-side resources are used to meet future electricity needs. Today, with many electric utilities facing uncertainty in the future of electricity demand, careful review of resource plans is more important now than ever as these decisions will impact millions of Georgian families and businesses for decades.
Although the plan filed by Georgia Power today has several positive developments for renewable energy, storage, and energy efficiency, the impact of those requests will be sadly blunted by a continued investment in fossil fuel infrastructure. The plan proposes extending the operation of power plants that burn fossil fuels such as coal in addition to the previously approved build-out of new fossil gas units. Such an investment in fossil fuels can raise Georgian’s electricity bills and risk blackouts in the future. With so much on the line, it is important throughout this IRP process that there is transparency, accountability, and rigorous review by regulators as Georgia Power makes decisions that will impact Georgia for decades.
Maggie Shober, Research Director at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said, “Georgia Power has already increased electricity bills because of its reliance on dirty fossil fuels. Renewables, storage, strategic transmission, and energy efficiency are the best tools we have to address high bills, reliability, and pollution. We appreciate that Georgia Power has included these tools in its plan, but there is room for a lot more clean energy in Georgia’s future.”
Patrick King II, Georgia Policy Director with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said, “Georgia Power’s plan to diversify its energy supplies is essential to meeting the immediate and long-term demands of the state’s growing economy. But the plan falls short of making the necessary investments in clean, affordable energy options like solar and wind energy. Instead, the IRP places too much reliance on dirty and costly fossil fuels that undermines the utility’s commitment to transition to a low-carbon future. This will continue to force the ratepayers of Georgia to foot the bill of these risky and costly fossil fuel infrastructures.”
G Webber, Sierra Club Georgia Chapter Director, said, “As expected, Georgia Power wants to use the same solution it always proposes to meet electricity demand: burning more expensive fossil fuels. The utility wants its customers to pay to extend the life of its polluting and uneconomic coal plants and increase our reliance on methane gas and its volatile prices, despite our state being a major hub for clean energy manufacturing employing thousands of Georgians. The only takeaway from this proposal is that Georgia Power doesn’t care if its customers get asthma, lose their homes in stronger and more frequent hurricanes, or put off medical care in order to pay their skyrocketing bills. Georgia Power is only interested in continuing to rake in record profits off our backs.”
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About the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE)
Since 1985, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy has worked to promote responsible and equitable energy choices to ensure clean, safe and healthy communities throughout the Southeast. Learn more at cleanenergy.org.
About the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
NRDC combines the power of more than 3 million members and online activists with the expertise of some 700 scientists, lawyers, and other environmental specialists to confront the climate crisis, protect the planet’s wildlife and wild places, and to ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. Learn more at nrdc.org.
About the Sierra Club Georgia Chapter
The Sierra Club Georgia Chapter is the largest grassroots environmental organization in the state, with more than 75,000 members and supporters. The Chapter supports a robust outings program and has active committees working on forest and coastal protection, transit expansion, and clean energy. For more information, visit sierraclub.org/georgia.