Overview
- A stipulated agreement the Georgia Public Service Commission approved Thursday will lower a typical 1,000 kWh residential bill by about $4 a month, producing roughly $285 million in annual savings for 2.8 million customers.
- The deal reduces the storm-recovery revenue requirement tied to Hurricane Helene from $270 million to $109 million and extends amortization of those costs to 67 months.
- Georgia Power trimmed its fuel-balance request by $13 million as part of the settlement and the commission capped some natural gas advance purchases, with the next scheduled fuel-rate filing set for February 2029.
- The commission voted 3-2 on party lines to pass the agreement and rejected Democratic amendments that sought deeper reviews of transportation costs, gas hedging and coal dispatch.
- Regulators allowed up to 15% of coal purchases at above-market prices and agreed to open a separate investigation into fuel-cost allocation and whether large industrial users such as data centers pay a fairer share of costs.