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ATLANTA, GA. — This week, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), the Sierra Club and SACE (Southern Alliance for Clean Energy) submitted a request to the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) to formally object to Open AI’s contract for electric service with Georgia Power.
In a letter to the PSC, advocates asked the commission to reject Open AI’s request unless robust ratepayer protections and full public transparency are guaranteed.
Open AI’s request for an additional 3.2 gigawatts of power, and the process in which it has made the request with the PSC raises numerous concerns about cost-shifting risks; a lack of transparency in existing agreements which have been heavily redacted; and the discretionary enforcement of the commission’s rule requiring Georgia Power to protect existing customers.
“The magnitude of the load from the announced Open AI project heightens the consequences of any shortcomings in the fully redacted contract’s cost-recovery provisions,” the letter reads. “A contract that does not adequately ensure recovery of all costs incurred to serve the load could leave Georgia Power customers responsible for those costs.”
