Georgia Power's $20 B OpenAI data‑center power deal faces scrutiny
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| Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | Original article
Georgia Power's secret agreement to supply electricity to OpenAI's planned Savannah-area data center is facing scrutiny and reigniting debate over the $20 billion project.
Georgia Power’s long‑term electricity supply pact for an OpenAI data‑center campus near Savannah has been pulled into the spotlight, sparking a fresh wave of public scrutiny and policy debate.
The utility brokered a 25‑year agreement that will deliver up to 3.2 GW of power to the campus in phased increments between 2028 and 2032, with an initial rollout of several hundred megawatts slated for 2028. The deal, valued at roughly $20 billion, was negotiated behind closed doors by OpenAI and Effingham County officials, bypassing the usual public comment period or a formal vote. The secrecy has fueled community outrage; nearly a thousand residents confronted OpenAI and county representatives after the agreement was announced without prior notice.
The contract dovetails with a broader expansion of Georgia Power’s generating capacity. In December 2025 the Georgia Public Service Commission approved a near‑10 GW increase, of which about 80 % is earmarked for current and future data‑center loads, effectively anchoring the state’s growing AI infrastructure to its power grid.
A parallel point of contention is the fiscal treatment of the project. While Georgia property taxes are normally assessed at 40 % of market value, the OpenAI affiliate will be taxed on just 25 % of that value, translating into a 37.5 % tax cut for the first 15 years of each construction phase.
The controversy raises questions about transparency, the balance of economic incentives and public oversight, and the capacity of regional grids to sustain massive AI workloads. Observers will be watching whether state regulators revisit the approval process, if additional community engagement mechanisms are introduced, and how the power agreement shapes future AI investments across the Southeast.
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