PRESS RELEASE
PSC Formally Opens Data Center Investigation to Address Billion Dollar “RTP Loophole”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2026
PSC Formally Opens Data Center Investigation to Address Billion Dollar “RTP Loophole”
Republican Majority spent months insisting families were already protected.
(Atlanta, Georgia) – Today, the Georgia Public Service Commission voted to formally open the Real Time Pricing Revenue Credit and Allocation Methodology investigation, Docket No. 57171, an examination into one way that Georgia Power's largest customers — data centers chief among them — are shifting costs onto working families and small businesses. The admission of the loophole by a Georgia Power representative participating in May’s Fuel Cost Recovery proceedings, Docket No. 56765, was noted by intervenors from the Southern Environmental Law Center and later interrogated from the dais by Commissioners Hubbard and Johnson.
The loophole - centers on what costs apply to the largest customer class, ones that use a pricing scheme known as Real Time Pricing, or “RTP.” The RTP pricing structure incentivizes facilities to use more electricity outside of peak hours, which benefits everyone on the grid. However, several categories of fees that fall under “Fuel Costs” broadly aren’t paid for by customers using RTP. These include Firm Transportation Costs - a fixed fee contract entered into between utilities and gas pipelines to guarantee a certain level of capacity - even during peak demand. Experts estimate that this fee will cost Georgians ~$118 Million in 2027 if not reallocated fairly.
"The Real Time Pricing Loophole is a glaring example of why we need to elect fighters to the PSC," said Commissioner Peter Hubbard. "In the Fuel Cost Docket, experts identified nearly $1 Billion in costs that data centers pay nothing towards, but families, churches, and small businesses do. A billion dollars could feed a lot of hungry kids in this state.”
In the fuel cost hearings, the Commission's own public interest staff found that large power users will drive up fuel costs for every other customer by up to 11% per month by 2028. Their testimony noted that “the difference increases over time as more large load is added to the system.” Meaning without accountability, billions in costs will be added to residential customers’ bills to pay for the fuel for data centers. The new investigation must conclude by Dec. 31, 2026.
"An investigation is only as good as the commissioners elected to act on its findings," said Shelia Edwards, Democratic Nominee for PSC District 5. "Georgians should remember that every major decision at the PSC is decided by just three votes. I am running to be the critical third vote that finally ends the rubber-stamping, holds large corporate energy users accountable, and restores the 'public' to the Public Service Commission. No Georgia senior, family, or veteran should ever have to choose between paying the power bill and keeping a roof over their heads, putting food on their tables, or buying the medicines they need."
The investigation will tell Georgians who is paying for the data center boom. The November election will decide whether anyone does something about it.
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