Facing frustration about Georgia Power customers’ rising bills, legislation that would force the utility to charge energy-hungry data centers for the cost of infrastructure built to serve them passed a Georgia General Assembly committee Tuesday.
After hours of passionate debate and testimony across two hearings, the legislation — Senate Bill 34 — cleared the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee with eight votes in favor and five against. The bill now heads to the Senate Rules Committee.
The vote was a win for consumer advocates, who argued residential customers need more protections to keep them from being saddled with energy costs brought on by the state’s data center boom. Georgia Power is opposed to the bill, along with data center industry groups…