Georgia state regulators review and audit OpenAI's power purchase agreement with Georgia Power, examining grid impact and contractual terms.

Georgia's Public Service Commission is reviewing a contract between OpenAI and Georgia Power to deliver electricity to a massive data center proposed for Effingham County. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is developing the $20 billion data center campus projected to launch in 2028. Georgia Power will provide 3.2 gigawatts of energy—enough to power over 2 million homes—delivered in phases from 2028 to 2032.

Public Service Commissioner Peter Hubbard said Georgia Power submitted a 100-page unsigned contract to the PSC on July 15. Under a rule the commission passed in April 2025, Georgia Power must provide the PSC all new contracts with data centers over 100 megawatts at least 30 days before execution. At 3.2 gigawatts, the Effingham facility draws 32 times that threshold.

When announced on July 22, Georgia Power and OpenAI stated that the tech company would pay for all construction costs for the necessary utility infrastructure. The contract includes "financial assurances designed to protect Georgia Power customers" from higher rates.

Although the PSC is required to review such large-load data center contracts, it is not required to vote to approve them. Hubbard expects the contract to take effect on August 14. "There is no effective contract date until both parties sign, which I would expect to happen promptly 30 days after filing," he said.

Under the 2025 rule, PSC staff can file objections within 30 days. If no objection is filed, the contract is automatically approved. If staff objects, the contract is approved if the commission takes no action within 30 days after the filing.

Hubbard, one of two Democrats elected to the PSC last fall amid public backlash against rising electricity prices, raised concerns about the deal. At a data center forum in June, he noted loopholes allowing companies to make only four years of payments instead of the full 15-year contract term. "If they do that, then someone has to pay for the infrastructure that was built," he said. "If it's Republicans controlling the commission, it means ratepayers pay it. If it's Democrats on the commission, it means shareholders eat that, so we need data center accountability."

Hubbard also criticized the lack of clean energy provisions. "It's going to come from the grid which is half fossil fuel energy or more. Data centers can do better," he said.

His opponent, Republican Fitz Johnson—appointed to the PSC in 2021—contended that existing protections are sufficient. "Georgia's large-load customer protections are among the strongest in the country, and many other states have looked to our framework as they develop their own policies," Johnson wrote. However, he added, "those rules have to be enforced."

Hubbard expressed deeper skepticism about the industry itself. "I just don't trust that the AI bubble is not going to burst, and it's a big risky bet that they're asking us to take," he said.