Georgia data centers grow while power prices rise just 2.5%
Georgia residential electricity prices rose 2.5 percent from June 2025 to June 2026, moving from 15.96 cents per kWh to 16.36 cents per kWh, according to the Jones & Swanson analysis. The national average increase reached 5.0 percent over the identical period. The study situates this contained change within the state's expanding data center sector without attributing the price movement directly to those facilities. Residential customers therefore experienced a smaller adjustment than the broader United States figure while construction activity continued at a brisk pace.
Sector prices from the same June-to-June window show distinct movements. Residential rates advanced from 15.96 cents per kWh to 16.36 cents per kWh for a 2.5 percent gain. Commercial rates declined from 12.16 cents per kWh to 11.91 cents per kWh, a 2.1 percent drop. Industrial rates fell from 9.25 cents per kWh to 8.86 cents per kWh, a 4.2 percent reduction. The all-sectors average eased from 13.18 cents per kWh to 13.08 cents per kWh, an 0.8 percent decline.
Pew Research Center data from February 2026 record 94 operating data centers in Georgia alongside 141 planned facilities. The planned share equals 60.0 percent of the combined total of 235 facilities. This distribution indicates that the majority of listed projects had not yet entered service at the time of the count.
Atlanta construction capacity reached 2,882 MW in the first half of 2026, marking a 52.3 percent year-over-year increase. Operating capacity stood at 1,803.2 MW during the same period, so construction volume exceeded the installed base by roughly 60 percent. Northern Virginia construction totaled 2,420.2 MW in the first half of 2026, placing Atlanta ahead in active build-out while Northern Virginia maintained a larger existing inventory of approximately 2.5 times Atlanta's operating capacity.
A September state-level listing positioned Georgia fourth nationally with 276 facilities, behind Virginia's leading total of 674. Virginia residential prices rose 13.1 percent over the measurement interval, more than five times Georgia's 2.5 percent increase. New York recorded an 11.1 percent rise, Pennsylvania 10.4 percent, and Ohio 9.7 percent. All four states exceeded the 5.0 percent national benchmark while Georgia remained below it.
The Georgia Public Service Commission approved 9,885 MW of new generation in December 2025, with the majority intended to serve large customers including data centers. Georgia Power committed to backstop related costs through 2031 in the event contracted demand from those customers does not materialize. The provision is designed to shield existing ratepayers from shortfalls in projected large-load revenue.
Regulators approved Georgia Power's contract in August 2026 to serve a proposed OpenAI data center in Effingham County requiring 3,200 MW of demand. The agreement includes a commitment by OpenAI to supply up to 1,000 MW of flexible demand response. Georgia Power forecasts that revenue from large customers will reduce a typical residential bill by approximately $180 annually beginning in 2029, based on 1,000 kWh monthly usage. The projection remains a forward estimate rather than realized savings.
The Jones & Swanson analysis raises questions about large-load contract provisions, minimum billing requirements, and cost-recovery mechanisms. It asks whether those safeguards will prevent cost shifts to households and small businesses if projects are delayed, canceled, or consume less power than anticipated. Atlanta's position atop North American construction rankings underscores the scale of the pending test for utility policy and ratepayer protections.
