Georgia Public Service Commission staff approved Georgia Power’s contract to supply electricity to OpenAI’s planned $20 billion data center in Effingham County on August 27, 2026, clearing the way for one of the largest single-site energy commitments tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure in the Southeast. The agreement delivers up to 3,200 megawatts of power to Project Camellia, OpenAI’s first self-designed data center campus, in phases between 2028 and 2032.
Key Takeaways
- Georgia PSC staff and Georgia Power signed a joint statement approving the contract roughly one hour before a 4 p.m. regulatory deadline on August 27, 2026.
- OpenAI will pay the full cost of infrastructure required to serve Project Camellia, and Georgia Power will not collect revenue shortfalls from residential ratepayers if OpenAI terminates the contract early.
- The contract includes up to 1,000 megawatts of flexible demand response, allowing Georgia Power to reduce energy delivered to the facility during periods of high grid demand.
- Georgia Power projects typical residential customers will save approximately $15 per month ($180 per year) beginning in 2029, an increase from the previous estimate of $102 per year.
- The OpenAI deal is the seventh large-load data center contract approved under a regulatory framework the PSC adopted in 2025.
- Environmental and consumer advocacy groups acknowledged progress on ratepayer protections but called for elected commissioners to have direct authority over future large-load contracts.
PSC Staff Signed Off Without a Commissioner Vote
The approval followed a regulatory process that drew scrutiny from both elected commissioners and advocacy organizations. Under rules the Georgia Public Service Commission passed in April 2025, Georgia Power must submit contracts with data center customers exceeding 100 megawatts to PSC staff at least 30 days before execution. Staff can file objections during that window, but the full commission does not hold a public vote on individual contracts.
PSC staff had initially signaled objections when the original 30-day review period approached its August 14 deadline. Georgia Power received an extension that pushed the deadline to August 27, giving staff additional time to negotiate ratepayer protections. The joint statement approving the contract was filed just before the extended deadline expired, one day ahead of the next scheduled PSC meeting — a timeline that drew pointed questions from at least one commissioner about whether the process was structured to avoid a fuller review by the elected body.
PSC Chairman Jason Shaw, a Republican, said in a statement that the commission’s staff attorneys, engineers, and financial analysts had ensured the contract includes residential ratepayer protections. Commissioner Alicia Johnson, a Democrat representing the Savannah area, said she was satisfied that appropriate safeguards are in place after extensive review and engagement around her concerns, which included ratepayer protections, alternative energy considerations, water stewardship, infrastructure costs, and long-term community impacts.
Commissioner Peter Hubbard, a Democrat seeking a full six-year term on the PSC, had raised concerns earlier in August about the contract’s size and structure. Hubbard noted that the single contract represented a commitment far larger than what the commission typically approves in integrated resource plans, where 20-year load growth projections undergo contested proceedings with public input. Hubbard acknowledged that PSC staff had worked out additional protections for ratepayers but maintained that the magnitude of the deal warranted closer scrutiny from elected commissioners.
Contract Terms Shift Infrastructure Costs to OpenAI
The approved contract requires OpenAI to fund all infrastructure and electric-service costs necessary to support the Effingham County facility. Georgia Power also secured a commitment from OpenAI for up to 1,000 megawatts of flexible demand response, a provision that allows the utility to curtail energy delivery to the data center during periods when statewide electricity demand peaks. Georgia Power has said the demand response provision reduces the amount of new generation capacity the utility needs to build to serve future load growth.
A notable addition negotiated during the extended review period addresses the risk of early termination. Georgia Power agreed that if OpenAI or another large data center customer cancels its service, the utility will not recover revenue shortfalls from other ratepayers. Georgia Power also committed to notifying the PSC within 15 days of any large-load customer cancellation. That provision responds directly to concerns raised by Hubbard and advocacy groups about what happens to ratepayers if a massive industrial customer exits before its contract term ends.
Georgia Power has said the OpenAI contract is part of a growing portfolio of large-load agreements expected to generate approximately $950 million in annual system savings beginning in 2029. The utility projects those savings will increase residential customer benefits to $2.847 billion over the three-year period from 2029 through 2031. Georgia Power CEO Kim Greene said in a statement that data centers are paying more so that families and small businesses can pay less, and that the goal with every contract signed under the framework is to deliver value for existing customers.
Advocacy Groups Push for Stronger Commissioner Oversight
Environmental and consumer advocacy organizations acknowledged the additional protections negotiated during the review process but stopped short of endorsing the regulatory mechanism that produced the approval. The Sierra Club’s Georgia Chapter called the agreement a step toward protecting ratepayers and increasing transparency, but argued that elected PSC commissioners should have authority to weigh in on future contract decisions of this scale.
The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy raised questions about how Georgia Power calculates the cost to serve large data center customers and what protections exist if the data center requires less power than projected and Georgia Power cannot backfill the load. Georgia Watch, a nonpartisan consumer advocacy organization, noted that while PSC staff had shifted more risk to OpenAI and other large-load customers, the approval letter relied on assumptions about cost-spreading that leave open the possibility of incremental costs shifting to other ratepayers in future rate proceedings.
The contract’s path to approval also reignited concerns about transparency. The full terms of the agreement between Georgia Power and OpenAI remain heavily redacted from public view, a point that advocacy groups and at least one PSC commissioner flagged during the review process. The Natural Resources Defense Council’s Georgia policy advocate noted that the public had been given almost no visibility into what the state’s potentially largest-ever utility customer contract actually contains.
Project Camellia’s Footprint in Effingham County
Project Camellia, as OpenAI has branded the development, occupies approximately 1,400 acres within the Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub, a 2,600-acre campus located near Rincon in Effingham County, roughly 30 minutes northwest of Savannah. The campus plan calls for four data center buildings totaling around 4.4 million square feet.
OpenAI has said the project will create approximately 400 full-time jobs when the campus opens around 2028, with employment scaling to roughly 1,000 positions by 2032. The company has also pledged $80 million in community benefits over the life of the project, directed toward local education, public safety, healthcare, housing, and small business resources. An additional $71 million in Codex credits has been committed for eligible Georgia students. OpenAI has stated that the facility will use a closed-loop water cooling system designed to minimize water consumption and avoid diverting water from local communities.
As part of its incentive package, OpenAI received a 50 percent property tax abatement for 15 years at 2026 millage rates, approved by the Effingham County Industrial Development Authority. Even with the abatement, OpenAI is projected to become the county’s largest taxpayer. County officials have said the tax revenue generated by the data center could fund “Project Zero,” a plan to eliminate homestead property taxes for Effingham County residents.
Georgia’s Position in the National Data Center Landscape
The approval positions Georgia as a significant player in the competition among Sun Belt states to attract hyperscale data center investment. Georgia Power’s 50 percent capacity expansion plan, approved unanimously by the PSC in a separate proceeding, calls for $16.3 billion in new generation construction to meet projected demand from data centers and other large-load customers. PSC staff have estimated that customers will pay between $50 billion and $60 billion over the coming decades for that buildout, including interest costs and guaranteed profit for the monopoly utility.
The OpenAI contract lands against a backdrop of rising community opposition to data center development nationwide. Reporting has indicated that at least 75 data center projects worth $130 billion were blocked or delayed in the first three months of 2026 alone. In Effingham County, nearly 1,000 residents attended a July 23 open house to voice concerns about the project’s impact on local infrastructure, water resources, and quality of life. The tension between economic development aspirations and community pushback will likely shape how Georgia Power and the PSC approach the next wave of large-load contracts seeking access to the state’s grid.
FAQs
What is Project Camellia?
Project Camellia is OpenAI’s planned $20 billion data center campus in Effingham County, Georgia, located within the Savannah Gateway Industrial Hub near Rincon. The facility is designed to receive up to 3.2 gigawatts of electricity from Georgia Power in phases between 2028 and 2032. OpenAI has described it as the company’s first self-designed and self-developed data center campus.
Will residential electricity rates increase because of the OpenAI data center?
Under the terms of the approved contract, OpenAI will pay the full cost of infrastructure and electric-service costs required to support the facility. Georgia Power has also agreed not to collect revenue shortfalls from residential ratepayers if OpenAI terminates its contract early. The utility projects that typical residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month will see savings of approximately $15 per month beginning in 2029.
How many jobs will Project Camellia create?
OpenAI has projected approximately 400 full-time positions when the campus opens around 2028, with employment growing to roughly 1,000 by 2032. The project is also expected to support thousands of construction-related jobs during the build-out phase, with a stated preference for local contractors.
Did the Georgia Public Service Commission vote on the contract?
The full commission did not hold a public vote. Under the large-load data center rules adopted by the PSC in April 2025, staff reviews contracts and can file objections within 30 days. If staff does not object, the contract is considered approved. PSC staff and Georgia Power signed a joint statement approving the contract on August 27, 2026.
