The U.S. Department of Energy has loaned Southern Company $26.5 billion to fund upgrades to its energy grid in Georgia and Alabama. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a press release Wednesday that the loan to Southern Company, the parent company of Georgia Power and Alabama Power, is intended to lower consumer energy costs for […]
The loan to upgrade or add capacity to the grid comes after Georgia approved the utility’s request for nearly 10,000 megawatts of new energy capacity. John McCosh/Georgia Recorder
The U.S. Department of Energy has loaned Southern Company $26.5 billion to fund upgrades to its energy grid in Georgia and Alabama.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a press release Wednesday that the loan to Southern Company, the parent company of Georgia Power and Alabama Power, is intended to lower consumer energy costs for residential customers as well as “reverse the energy subtraction agenda of past administrations and add more reliable power generation to our electrical grid.”
“These loans will not only lower energy costs but also create thousands of jobs and increase grid reliability for the people of Georgia and Alabama,” Wright said.
Georgia regulators approve massive power grid expansion to serve data centers
The move drew criticism from environmentalists who said that Southern Company is building massive power capacity to serve data centers, driving up costs for residential ratepayers in the decades to come.
“Spending our tax dollars to prop up a fading industry is a terrible investment,” Michael Hawthorne, Sierra Club’s campaign organizing strategist, said in a press release. “In the short term, Georgians will get expensive electricity and more air pollution, and long-term, these projects will damage our communities and our health. Instead of this corporate welfare handout to Big Tech companies, the Trump Administration should invest in lower cost, lower risk clean energy projects that serve the entire state.”
The federal loan comes after Georgia regulators unanimously approved the utility’s request for nearly 10,000 megawatts of new energy capacity. While Georgia Power officials promised the expansion would allow them to provide a monthly savings of $8.50 due to “downward pressures,” environmental organizations were skeptical of the promise, fearing that residential ratepayers would have to pay for these upgrades if the projected data center boom fails to materialize.
The loan will help build or upgrade over 16 gigawatts of power, with five gigawatts of new gas generation, six gigawatts in nuclear and hydropower improvement, battery energy storage systems and over 1,300 miles of transmission and grid projects.
Chris Womack, the head of Southern Company, said on the utility’s website that it will provide “reliable and affordable energy” to millions of customers.
“These loans will help lower the cost of investments in our grid that will enhance reliability and resilience for the benefit of our customers,” Womack said.
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