(The Center Square) – Protection for consumers from energy costs passed on by the creation of data centers has moved forward in the Georgia House of Representatives.
House Bill 1023 would require utilities and data centers to include provisions in their contracts that would protect consumers from higher power bills. The House Special Committee on Resource Management recommended approval of the bill on Friday.
The Georgia Public Service Commission passed rules last year that require any new customers using more than 100 megawatts of energy to absorb those costs.
Khara Boender, director of state policy for the Data Center Coalition, said her organization aligns with the bill’s intent and the Public Service Commission’s rules.
“However, HB1023 only applies to data centers and not other large load customers,” Boender told the committee. “We recommend the bill more closely align with and codify the actions of the PSC.”
The bill received tentative support from Science for Georgia, a nonprofit public policy organization.
“This bill is a great start to make sure the average rate payer does not bear the cost of this buildout, but this bill only works if Georgia Power is spot on with its prediction for large load demands for the next 45 years,” said Amy Sharma, executive director of the organization. “And if they aren’t correct, and if they overbuild in anticipation of customers that never materialize, we are left holding the bag.”
Georgia Power is neutral on the bill, said Aaron Mitchell, senior vice president for strategic growth for the utility.
“We believe that protections are there already but we respect the will of this committee related to the bill,” Mitchell said.
House Bill 1023 is similar to Senate Bill 34 by Sen. Chuck Hufstetler, R-Rome. But House Bill 1023 includes provisions that protect ratepayers if contracts between the utilities and data centers are terminated.
Georgia is the epicenter of a data center boom in the Southeast. The Peach State has 201, according to the latest version of the USA Data Center Map. Florida has 107 and Tennessee has 61. Virginia (570) leads the country as the state with the most data centers.
Lawmakers are also considering ending tax breaks for data centers. Senate Bill 410, also sponsored by Hufstetler, would eliminate any new tax incentives but would not repeal any already in effect.
Lawmakers attempted to put the brakes on the data center tax break in 2024. Gov. Brian Kemp vetoed a bill that would have paused the tax cut for two years, saying it would undermine investment in projects already in development.
Senate Bill 410 comes on the heels of a report showing that data center tax breaks are not the driving force behind the surge.
Only 30% of Georgia’s data center boom can be attributed to a 2018 tax break intended to support the industry, according to a December report from the State Department of Audits and Accounts.