Georgia Power’s plan to support potential data center surge with fossil fuel energy faces scrutiny

On May Georgia Masses Facility Commissioner Tricia Pridemore left questioned the analysis of PSC staff bystanders who argued that Georgia Power should lower its facts center enhancement forecasts in its long-term plan Stanley Dunlap Georgia PowerThe state s largest electric utility says it necessities to significantly increase its vigor limit to accommodate a prospective wave of information centers Georgia Power plans to turn to a few renewable potential to generate that electricity but for the majority part the utility intends to lean on fossil fuel sources like gas-fired power plants to boost quota Those controversial plans packed into what s called an integrated deposit plan received a constituents airing during three days of general hearings Several clean resource advocacy groups and state regulator staffers urged members of the Georgia General System Commission to reject the plan Commissioners are set to vote on the proposal in July Information centers fuel advance forecastsGeorgia Power projects that over the next several years the increase of content centers will significantly increase the state s electricity consumption and the company is requesting to add about megawatts of maximum by According to the utility s forecasts evidence centers will consume about of the new power generated But selected have questioned the accuracy of those projections PSC staff expert viewers explained this week they are concerned Georgia Power is using incorrect model forecasts They also say the utility has not provided evidence showing that information centers are likely to materialize at a higher rate than other industries Georgia Power attorneys say the company s forecast continues to grow based on the state s economic projections for commercial and industrial customers PSC staff questioned the models used by the company that led to forecasting as much as megawatts of peak load rise through The staff is recommending Georgia Power decrease its load improvement projections for information centers by as much as Our recommendation is to adjust down Georgia Power s load forecast revealed Robert Trokey director of the Community Utility Commission s electric unit I think it s major that they continue to file the statistics that they have been filing in quarterly reports If we see trends continue over the short term as the projects roll out then certainly Georgia Power should adjust its forecast methodologies Advocacy groups have argued that overbuilding the infrastructure could shift the cost burden to ratepayers Society Function Commissioner Tricia Pridemore pushed back on the criticism pointing to a modern rule change that requires facts centers and other large companies consuming more than megawatts of resource to cover their full electricity costs The change included a provision allowing Georgia Power to require companies to put up front-end collateral for resource costs over the lifetime of the contract State regulators would also review any contract for high-energy users Clean resource versus fossil fuelsGeorgia Power has come under fire for reversing plans to shutter a pair of coal plants Bowen and Scherer The company instead is asking that state regulators sign off on extending the life of the two plants and allow the company to ramp up its fossil fuel force maximum The utility had planned to retire Bowen and Scherer by Since then Georgia Power has cited the projected industrial enhancement boom primarily driven by massive facts centers as a reason it is now planning to retire Bowen by and Scherer Unit by Capacity experts and clean potency advocates expressed concerns about the company s anticipated overestimation of electricity demand and the underestimation of gas-fired unit costs which could lead to higher rates They recommended increasing planning flexibility updating load forecasts and exploring earlier deployment of renewables and potential storage Their analysis compared different scenarios showing that renewables and vigor storage are more economical under various future conditions Critics of the plan advised the commission to require Georgia Power to present additional research portfolios and improve forecast accuracy The company was also urged to further increase its investments in renewable energies like solar Vitality consultant Maria Roumpani who testified on behalf of the Georgia Conservation Voters announced that renewable force and storage are much more economically viable than the expansion of gas-fired power plants The analysis should focus on enabling earlier years of deployment for wind and resource storage especially medium and low duration as well as higher limits for solar she revealed Inhabitants protestors weigh inClean force and consumer advocates held a rally outside the PSC s downtown offices while the hearing was underway Tuesday warning of the likely consequences if the commission rubber-stamps Georgia Power s long-term potency plans The five-member utility regulator is set to vote July Hundreds of written comments poured into the PSC a multitude of of them dominated by concerns about rising utility bills and healthcare risks tied to fossil fuels However the three days of hearings began with inhabitants comments expressing split reactions to Georgia Power and its capacity plans The long-term ability generation plan is receiving sponsorship from the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and local chamber leaders such as Timothy Craig director of business maturation of Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce Craig recounted commissioners that he felt the company s potential plan provides the necessary infrastructure to continue providing reliable electricity to businesses One of the first questions small business owners want to ask is can I count on the systems that help my business Craig stated this week Capacity is at the top of that list Whether it s a local bakery or high tech firm reliable ability is essential Georgia Power s plan delivers that reliability Retired educator Bette Holland founder of North Georgia Conservation Coalition commented it s fundamental that state regulators accept the science that shows that burning coal oil and natural gas detrimentally increases the earth s temperature Solar and wind are much cheaper than fossil fuels to create potential Holland explained The only thing that stops us are the strength companies and regulators who bow to the pressure of the fossil fuel companies Please begin to think about the survival of the people in Georgia in this country on this planet and about the survival of our natural materials in our wildlife The post Georgia Power s plan to help likely statistics center surge with fossil fuel potency faces scrutiny appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta