Georgia Power
Georgia Power is an investor-owned electric utility serving most of the U.S. state of Georgia and operating as the largest electric-utility subsidiary of Southern Company.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
Georgia Power is an investor-owned electric utility headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It supplies electricity to residential, commercial, industrial, governmental, and public-sector customers across most of the state under regulation by the Georgia Public Service Commission. The company is the largest of Southern Company’s four major electric utilities, alongside Alabama Power, Mississippi Power, and Gulf Power’s successor operations. Georgia Power is not a separately traded public company; its business operates within Southern Company’s corporate structure while retaining its own operating identity, customer relationships, regulatory filings, generation fleet, and brand. The company traces its origins to the Georgia Railway and Power Company, which began operations in 1902 as an Atlanta streetcar operator. During its early decades, the enterprise combined electric transportation with power generation and distribution. It operated streetcars and later trolleybuses in Atlanta, built hydroelectric facilities in northern Georgia, and helped establish the infrastructure that supported the state’s industrial and urban development. Its trolleybus system reached 31 electric routes by 1950, at the time the largest such system in the United States. Transit operations were subsequently transferred to the Atlanta Transit Company, while Georgia Power increasingly concentrated on electricity generation, transmission, and retail service. Georgia Power’s generation portfolio has historically included hydroelectric, coal-fired, natural-gas-fired, oil-fired, solar, battery-storage, and nuclear resources. Its nuclear assets include Plant Hatch near Baxley and Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro. Vogtle Units 3 and 4 entered commercial operation on July 31, 2023, and April 29, 2024, respectively. Their completion represented the first new commercial nuclear units brought into service in the United States in more than three decades. The project also became one of the most consequential and controversial capital programs in the company’s history because of extended construction delays, major cost escalation, and associated rate-recovery proceedings. The company’s service territory includes 155 of Georgia’s 159 counties according to its current company facts. At the end of 2025, Georgia Power reported approximately 2.83 million customers and 7,760 employees. Its operations include power generation, high-voltage transmission, local distribution, customer service, energy-efficiency programs, economic-development support, renewable-energy procurement, and assistance for large commercial and industrial customers. The company also operates or participates in a broad network of generation plants and transmission interconnections with neighboring utilities. Georgia Power remains a regulated utility whose strategy is shaped by state resource-planning proceedings, fuel-cost adjustments, rate cases, reliability requirements, federal environmental rules, and demand growth. During the mid-2020s, projected electricity demand from data centers and other large industrial customers became a major planning issue. The company’s 2025 Integrated Resource Plan, approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission in July 2025, authorized significant additions of renewable generation, battery storage, and thermal capacity while permitting several coal units to remain available longer than previously planned. The strategy has attracted support from officials and business groups focused on reliability and economic development, as well as criticism from environmental and consumer advocates concerned about fossil-fuel dependence, coal-ash liabilities, and the possibility that customers could bear the cost of demand forecasts that do not materialize. Georgia Power presents its market position around safe, reliable, clean, and affordable electricity, while its public record reflects the tensions inherent in operating a large regulated utility: the need to maintain dependable cap…
History
Georgia Power’s history begins with the Georgia Railway and Power Company, which started operating in 1902 as the successor to the Atlanta Consolidated Street Railway Company. Its first major business was electric streetcar transportation in Atlanta, but the company’s activities soon expanded into power generation and electricity distribution. This combination reflected the structure of many early electric utilities, which built generating facilities partly to supply transportation systems and partly to serve growing urban and industrial demand. During the first half of the twentieth century, Georgia Power was deeply involved in Atlanta’s electric transit network. It operated streetcars and published a free customer-oriented newsletter, Two Bells, which was distributed on its vehicles and later continued under the successor Atlanta Transit Company. From 1937 to 1950, Georgia Power also operated trolleybuses. By 1950, its system had reached 31 electric routes and was described as the largest trolleybus network in the United States. Following the Atlanta transit strike of 1950, the Atlanta Transit Company assumed transit operations, leaving Georgia Power increasingly focused on electric utility activities. Hydroelectric development became another important part of the company’s early growth. Georgia Power constructed dams on rivers including the Chattahoochee and Tallulah systems. These projects produced electricity while also creating reservoirs and shoreline used for recreation, water management, and habitat. Facilities associated with the Tallulah and Tugaloo rivers helped form lakes including Burton, Seed, Rabun, Tallulah Falls, Tugalo, and Yonah. The company’s hydroelectric assets remain part of its generation portfolio and are managed through Georgia Power Hydro. Over the second half of the twentieth century, Georgia Power expanded a mixed generation fleet containing hydroelectric, coal, oil, and natural-gas resources. It developed large thermal stations to support Georgia’s population growth and industrialization. Plant Scherer in Monroe County became one of the largest coal-fired generating facilities in the country and was later identified in environmental studies as a major point source of carbon dioxide emissions. The company also developed nuclear capacity at Plant Hatch and Plant Vogtle. Vogtle Units 1 and 2 entered service in the 1980s, creating the foundation for the later expansion project. The company’s corporate development continued within the Southern Company system. In 2003, Georgia Power reached two million customers. Mike Garrett became president and chief executive officer in 2004. In 2006, Savannah Electric and Power Company, a separate Southern Company subsidiary, merged into Georgia Power, adding approximately 150,000 accounts and expanding the company’s operating footprint. During the 2000s, Georgia Power also invested in environmental controls and pursued new natural-gas generation as coal’s dominance began to decline. The most consequential modern development was the construction of Vogtle Units 3 and 4. The Georgia Public Service Commission certified the project in March 2009. Georgia Power built the units with co-owners Oglethorpe Power, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, and Dalton Utilities. The project was intended to expand nuclear generation and provide long-lived, low-carbon baseload capacity, but it experienced major delays and cost increases associated with construction complexity, regulatory requirements, supply-chain issues, and the bankruptcy of the original reactor-construction contractor. Unit 3 entered commercial operation on July 31, 2023, and Unit 4 followed on April 29, 2024. The completed site became the largest nuclear generation facility in the United States by total capacity. Vogtle’s expansion reshaped Georgia Power’s regulatory and financial environment. The company sought approval to recover construction and operating costs through customer rates, while consumer advocates and some commission staff argued that alternatives such as natural gas or solar paired with battery storage could have provided electricity at lower risk. In 2018, cost escalation contributed to a Moody’s downgrade of Georgia Power’s credit rating. In 2019 and 2021, the company pursued additional rate recovery, and regulators later authorized billions of dollars in cost recovery. Environmental compliance has also been a continuing theme. Since 2015, Georgia Power has been required to close coal-ash ponds at its coal plants under federal and state coal-combustion-residual rules. The company has proposed a combination of excavation and relocation to lined landfills, together with closure in place at other sites. Environmental groups have challenged aspects of those plans, particularly where ash remains near groundwater. Georgia Power has maintained that its plans comply with applicable regulations. In 2022, the EPA separately assessed a small civil penalty for oil-spill-prevention deficiencies at an Atlanta facility. In the 2020s, Georgia Power’s planning increasingly focused on renewable energy, storage, reliability, industrial recruitment, and rapid load growth associated with data centers. Its 2025 Integrated Resource Plan, approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission in July 2025, authorized substantial new capacity and allowed some coal units to remain available beyond prior retirement expectations. The same period also brought a commission-approved freeze on base rates through 2028. As of the mid-2020s, Georgia Power remained an active regulated utility serving more than 2.8 million customers, with Kim Greene as chairman, president, and chief executive officer.
- 2025
2025 Integrated Resource Plan approved
[8]The Georgia Public Service Commission approves Georgia Power’s long-range resource plan amid projected demand growth from data centers and industrial customers.
- 2025
Base-rate freeze approved through 2028
[9]The Georgia Public Service Commission approves a three-year freeze on Georgia Power’s base electric rates.
- 2024
Vogtle Unit 4 enters commercial operation
[6]Unit 4 begins commercial operation on April 29, 2024, completing the expansion of Plant Vogtle to four reactors.
- 2023
Vogtle Unit 3 enters commercial operation
[15]Unit 3 begins commercial service on July 31, 2023, becoming the first new U.S. commercial nuclear unit in more than 30 years.
- 2023
Kim Greene becomes chairman, president and CEO
[4]Kim Greene assumes Georgia Power’s top executive role.
- 2021
Chris Womack becomes chairman and CEO
[14]Chris Womack succeeds Paul Bowers as Georgia Power’s chairman, president, and chief executive officer.
- 2018
Vogtle cost escalation affects credit ratings
[1]Moody’s downgrades Georgia Power’s credit rating after further cost increases associated with the Vogtle expansion.
- 2016
Plant Mitchell shuts down
[1]The former coal-fired Plant Mitchell ceases operations.
- 2014
Plant Mitchell closure plan announced
[1]Georgia Power announces that it will decertify and close Plant Mitchell rather than convert the coal facility to biomass generation.
- 2011
Paul Bowers becomes chairman and CEO
[13]W. Paul Bowers begins his tenure as Georgia Power’s chairman and chief executive officer.
Products and positioning
A regulated, vertically integrated electric utility positioned around reliable, clean, safe, and affordable power for Georgia households and businesses, with additional emphasis on nuclear generation, grid reliability, economic development, energy efficiency, and community investment.
Electric utility service · 1902
Retail electric service
Georgia Power’s core offering is regulated retail electricity service for residential, commercial, industrial, governmental, and public-sector customers. The company provides metered delivery, billing, outage response, connection and disconnection services, rate plans, customer assistance, and service-territory support across most of Georgia.
Nuclear power generation · 1987
Plant Vogtle Units 1–4
Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro is Georgia Power’s flagship nuclear-generation asset. Units 1 and 2 entered service in the 1980s, while Units 3 and 4 entered commercial operation in 2023 and 2024. The site supplies large volumes of around-the-clock, low-carbon electricity and is operated by Southern Nuclear for the co-owners.
Nuclear power generation · 1974
Plant Hatch
The Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Power Plant near Baxley is another major nuclear facility associated with Georgia Power. Its two reactors form part of the company’s nuclear portfolio and provide dependable generation within the broader Southern Company system.
Hydroelectric power generation · 1902
Georgia Power Hydro
Georgia Power Hydro operates a network of hydroelectric generating units and associated reservoirs. The facilities generate renewable electricity while supporting recreation, shoreline access, water resources, and habitat across parts of Georgia and along the Georgia–South Carolina border.
Natural gas, coal, and oil generation
Thermal generation fleet
Georgia Power operates or participates in a fleet of natural-gas-, coal-, and oil-fired generating facilities. The portfolio has been reshaped by coal-plant retirements, conversions, environmental controls, and new planning decisions intended to maintain reliability as electricity demand grows.
Renewable energy and storage
Renewable energy and battery programs
The company supports utility-scale and distributed renewable generation, renewable-energy procurement, solar programs, and battery energy storage. These resources are incorporated into Georgia Power’s integrated resource planning and are intended to diversify supply while supporting reliability and emissions objectives.
Energy services
Energy-efficiency and demand-side-management programs
Georgia Power offers residential and commercial programs designed to reduce energy use, improve building efficiency, manage demand, and help customers control costs. The programs include education, efficiency incentives, demand-side management, and business-focused energy solutions.
Controversies
2026
Georgia Power Data Breach Affects About 300,000 Customers
Georgia Power is notifying approximately 300,000 customers after hackers accessed personal information through the utility's online customer portal. The company said it detected suspicious activity and determined that an unauthorized third party had accessed certain information associated with customer accounts, including names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, basic account information, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers. Bank account numbers, payment card numbers, and driver's license numbers were not accessed. Georgia Power said it stopped the unauthorized activity, contacted law enforcement, and conducted an investigation that found no evidence of continuing unauthorized access. It is notifying affected customers by email or U.S. mail and offering free credit monitoring. The incident was part of a larger security breach affecting Southern Company utilities, with approximately 400,000 customer accounts affected overall, including additional customers in Alabama and Mississippi.
2024
Plant Scherer coal-ash contamination litigation
Residents near Plant Scherer alleged that coal ash had contaminated well water and contributed to illnesses. Georgia Power disputed the claims and maintained that its closure plans complied with applicable law. In late 2024, the company reached confidential settlements with dozens of plaintiffs, while a county judge had separately found that water samples did not support the asserted contamination claims.
2022
Oil-spill-prevention audit violation
The EPA assessed a $1,906 penalty after an Atlanta Georgia Power facility failed an oil-spill-prevention audit. The cited deficiencies included the absence of a method for predicting potential spills, inadequate containment planning, and insufficient drainage controls.
2019
Coal-ash closure cost recovery dispute
Environmental advocates challenged the Georgia Public Service Commission’s decision allowing Georgia Power to recover an estimated $525 million in coal-ash closure costs from customers. Critics argued that the company should bear more of the cost and objected to leaving ash in place at certain sites. The Georgia Court of Appeals upheld the commission’s decision, and the Georgia Supreme Court declined review.
2018
Vogtle cost escalation and credit-rating downgrade
Escalating construction costs at Plant Vogtle contributed to a Moody’s downgrade of Georgia Power’s credit rating from A3 to Baa1. The episode intensified scrutiny of the project’s financing, construction management, and future customer-rate effects.
Marketing campaigns
- 2025Here for Georgia community investment
Georgia · United States
Georgia Power, the Georgia Power Foundation, employees, and retirees supported charitable, educational, economic-development, and community organizations through grants, contributions, and volunteer activity.
Outcome. The company reported more than $33 million in 2025 community giving and support for more than 1,000 organizations.
- 2024Hurricane Helene customer assistance and restoration
Georgia · United States
Following Hurricane Helene, Georgia Power coordinated restoration crews, mutual assistance, customer communications, service-disconnection relief, late-fee waivers, and payment arrangements for affected communities.
Outcome. The company reported restoring service to more than 95 percent of affected customers within the first week while continuing longer-term restoration work.
- 2023Energy-efficiency awareness initiative
Georgia · United States
Georgia Power used customer education, digital communications, media outreach, and program information to promote energy conservation and demand-side-management offerings for residential and commercial customers.
Outcome. The initiative expanded awareness of efficiency programs and was incorporated into the company’s integrated resource planning materials.
- 2019Smart Neighborhood
Atlanta · Georgia · United States
Georgia Power partnered with PulteGroup to open Atlanta’s first Smart Neighborhood, using connected-home technologies, energy-efficiency measures, rooftop solar, and battery storage to explore how homes and the grid could interact more efficiently.
Outcome. The project served as a demonstration and learning platform for future residential energy-management offerings.
- 1930Two Bells customer newsletter
Atlanta · United States
Georgia Power distributed a free newsletter called Two Bells on its streetcars. The publication continued under the Atlanta Transit Company after transit operations changed hands and remained part of the broader electric-transit communication tradition into the 1960s.
Outcome. The newsletter became a long-running customer-communications artifact associated with Georgia Power’s early transportation and utility history.
Brand decisions
2025
Adopt the 2025 Integrated Resource PlanStrategyBackground
Georgia Power forecast rapid electricity-load growth, particularly from data centers and other large industrial customers, while continuing to manage reliability, fuel diversity, emissions, and customer affordability.
Action taken
The Georgia Public Service Commission approved a plan authorizing up to 4,000 megawatts of additional renewable resources, 1,500 megawatts of battery storage, additional natural-gas capacity, and continued operation of certain coal units beyond earlier retirement plans.
Aftermath
The plan intensified debate over fossil-fuel investment, data-center demand forecasts, cost allocation, and the role of renewables and storage in Georgia’s future resource mix.
- Southern Alliance for Clean Energy — Criticized the plan for relying too heavily on fossil fuels and for the risks associated with projected data-center demand.
- Natural Resources Defense Council — Raised concerns about resource choices and potential costs to customers.
2025
Agree to freeze base rates through 2028Price changeBackground
Georgia Power was expected to file a 2025 base-rate case after several recent increases, while the commission and its staff sought greater rate stability for customers.
Action taken
Georgia Power agreed with commission staff not to file the expected 2025 base-rate case and to keep base rates frozen for at least three years.
Aftermath
The base-rate freeze was approved through 2028, although storm-damage recovery and other separate proceedings could still affect customer bills.
2024
Place Vogtle Unit 4 into commercial serviceGeneration changeBackground
Unit 4 completed startup testing after the successful commercial launch of Unit 3 and was prepared to operate as part of the completed four-unit Vogtle site.
Action taken
Georgia Power declared Unit 4 commercially operational on April 29, 2024.
Aftermath
Plant Vogtle became the largest U.S. nuclear generating site by total capacity and added another large source of low-carbon electricity to Georgia Power’s portfolio.
2023
Place Vogtle Unit 3 into commercial serviceGeneration changeBackground
After extensive construction and startup testing, the first new reactor in the Vogtle expansion became available for regular dispatch.
Action taken
Georgia Power and project partners declared Unit 3 commercially operational on July 31, 2023.
Aftermath
Unit 3 began supplying customers and associated capital costs entered rate-recovery proceedings.
Unit 3 capital costs transferred to rate base. $2.1 billion (August 2023)
2018
Continue Vogtle construction despite further cost growthStrategyBackground
The project faced additional cost increases and uncertainty after the bankruptcy of the original construction contractor. Stopping construction would have created major sunk costs and contractual consequences.
Action taken
Georgia Power agreed to assume a larger share of certain costs of the smaller co-owners if project costs exceeded $9.2 billion.
Aftermath
Construction continued, but the decision increased Georgia Power’s exposure to cost overruns and contributed to later customer-rate debates.
Cost-sharing threshold. Georgia Power’s prior allocation structure → Additional cost responsibility if project costs exceeded $9.2 billion (2018 agreement)
2014
Close Plant Mitchell rather than convert it to biomassStrategyBackground
Georgia Power had explored converting the coal-fired Plant Mitchell near Albany into a wood-fueled biomass facility, but the company later determined that continued operation was not justified.
Action taken
The company decertified the plant and announced plans to close it rather than proceed with the proposed biomass retrofit.
Aftermath
Plant Mitchell shut down in 2016, while its former ash-pond discharge continued to be monitored.
2009
Certify construction of Vogtle Units 3 and 4Product launchBackground
Georgia Power and its co-owners sought additional long-term, low-carbon baseload capacity as electricity demand and environmental pressures were evolving. The project was also positioned as a revival of U.S. nuclear construction.
Action taken
The Georgia Public Service Commission certified construction of two new reactors at Plant Vogtle.
Aftermath
The project eventually delivered two operating reactors but suffered approximately seven years of delay and costs exceeding original estimates by more than $20 billion, creating extensive regulatory and rate-recovery proceedings.
Total project cost. Original estimates were substantially lower than final costs → More than $35 billion (By completion of Vogtle Units 3 and 4 in 2024)
2006
Merge Savannah Electric into Georgia PowerM&ABackground
Southern Company operated both Georgia Power and Savannah Electric and Power Company as separate subsidiaries. Consolidating Savannah Electric into Georgia Power was intended to simplify operations and integrate the coastal Georgia customer base.
Action taken
Georgia Power absorbed Savannah Electric and added approximately 150,000 customer accounts.
Aftermath
The merger expanded Georgia Power’s service base and consolidated Southern Company’s electric-utility operations in Georgia.
Recent events
Georgia Power begins operating Plant Hammond battery storage facility[19]
Georgia Power began operating a battery energy storage facility at the former Plant Hammond site in Floyd County. The company showcased the facility on October 21, 2026.
- Unconfirmed
Georgia Power data breach affects personal information of about 300,000 customers[18]
Georgia Power is notifying approximately 300,000 customers after hackers gained access to personal information through the utility's online customer portal. The company says it recently detected suspicious activity and determined an unauthorized third party had accessed certain information associated with customer accounts, including names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, basic account information and the last four digits of Social Security numbers; it says bank account numbers, payment card numbers and driver's license numbers were not accessed. Georgia Power says it took steps to stop the unauthorized activity, contacted law enforcement, conducted an investigation that found no evidence of continuing unauthorized access, is notifying affected customers by email or U.S. mail, and is offering free credit monitoring. The incident was part of a larger security breach affecting Southern Company utilities, with approximately 400,000 customer accounts affected overall, including additional customers of Southern Company utilities in Alabama and Mississippi.
- Unconfirmed
Jessie’s Restaurant and Catering wins Industry Innovation Award[20]
Reported:
The Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce and Georgia Power named Jessie’s Restaurant and Catering a winner of the Industry Innovation Award for its safe redirection.
Altus Power completes acquisition of Georgia solar portfolio[21]
Reported:
Altus Power completed the acquisition of a 4-megawatt operating solar portfolio consisting of five projects from Beltline Energy. The projects sell electricity to Georgia Power.
Georgia Power introduces Pay by Day rate plan[22]
Reported:
Georgia Power introduced Pay by Day, a prepaid residential electricity rate plan with a fixed daily price for a year.
Georgia Power launches Learning Power mobile app[23]
Reported:
Georgia Power launched the Learning Power mobile game app, which offers students interactive, grade-appropriate educational games on STEM, energy and energy efficiency. The app is available for download from the Apple Store and Google Play.
Duke Energy Renewables completes Georgia solar project acquisition[24]
Reported:
Duke Energy Renewables completed the acquisition of a solar project in Georgia; the project was developed with Inman Solar Inc.
GATX sues Georgia Power over alleged railcar damage[25]
Reported:
GATX filed suit against Georgia Power, alleging that it returned 160 leased railcars with corrosion damage and refused to pay repair costs, which GATX estimated at $5 million. Georgia Power said it believed the claims had no merit and would defend itself.
Sources25 sources
- 1Georgia Poweren.wikipedia.org
- 2Company Overviewgeorgiapower.com
- 3Facts & Figuresgeorgiapower.com
- 4Georgia Power Leadership Teamgeorgiapower.com
- 5Georgia Power Historical Timelinegeorgiapower.com
- 6Vogtle Unit 4 Enters Commercial Operationgeorgiapower.com
- 72025 Integrated Resource Plangeorgiapower.com
- 8Georgia PSC 2025 Integrated Resource Plan Approvalpsc.ga.gov
- 9Georgia PSC Three-Year Rate Freeze Approvalpsc.ga.gov
- 10Hurricane Helene Assistancegeorgiapower.com
- 11EPA Enforcement and Compliance Online Reportecho.epa.gov
- 12Vogtle Units 3 and 4 receive regulatory certificationgeorgiapower.com
- 13Paul Bowers becomes chairman and CEOgeorgiapower.com
- 14Chris Womack becomes chairman and CEOgeorgiapower.com
- 15Vogtle Unit 3 enters commercial operationgeorgiapower.com
- 16Smart Neighborhoodgeorgiapower.com
- 17Here for Georgia community investmentgeorgiapower.com
- 18Georgia Power Data Breach Affects About 300,000 Customerschattooga1180.com
- 19Georgia Power开始运营哈蒙德电厂电池储能设施chattooga1180.com
- 20Jessie’s Restaurant and Catering 获得行业创新奖valdostadailytimes.com
- 21Altus Power完成收购佐治亚州太阳能项目组合prnewswire.com
- 22Georgia Power推出Pay by Day费率计划prnewswire.com
- 23Georgia Power推出Learning Power移动应用prnewswire.com
- 24Duke Energy Renewables完成佐治亚州太阳能项目收购dailyenergyinsider.com
- 25GATX 就铁路货车涉嫌受损起诉 Georgia Powerfreightwaves.com
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