In the state of Georgia, there remains disagreement among parties regarding the increase in data center energy consumption figures

In a recent development, the Georgia Public Service Commission (GPSC) has raised concerns about Georgia Power's approach to forecasting data center projects. This comes after 19 data center projects that had expressed interest in receiving electricity from Georgia Power were either canceled or withdrawn since Q2 of last year.

The GPSC recommends that Georgia Power provide more detailed information in its quarterly reports, such as the quarter when a project entered the large load pipeline, whether the customer is considering sites outside of Georgia, and a "description and quantification of financial commitments" made by each data center customer.

One of the key issues at hand is economic uncertainty, which could cause the data center pipeline to "diminish or be delayed," potentially bringing the load forecast down further. The GPSC suggests accounting for this uncertainty in the model.

Microsoft, a significant player in the region with several data center campuses, has voiced its concerns. Particularly troubling for Microsoft is the inclusion of projects that are considering Georgia as a location, but haven't committed funds or signed a contract, in Georgia Power's forecasts. This could potentially lead to over-forecasting near-term load (through 2030) and procuring excessive, carbon-intensive generation.

The proportion of Georgia Power's resource mix that is served by carbon-emitting resources versus the proportion served by carbon-pollution free electricity will have an impact on Microsoft's ability to meet its sustainability commitments.

In the previous Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) update filed in late 2023, Microsoft challenged Georgia Power's modeling methods, arguing that it was overestimating data center load. The GPSC shares these concerns, particularly about how Georgia Power is modeling data centers, which represent 83% of its large load forecast pipeline.

It's worth noting that Microsoft is not presently intending to submit any testimony in the current proceeding. However, the commission's response to the utility's IRP will directly impact Microsoft's business interests.

Data center projects make up the majority of large load projects canceled since Georgia Power last filed its forecast. The majority of these removals (96%) came from projects that were in the early "technical review" stage.

The GPSC has expressed its concerns about Georgia Power's 2025 IRP, specifically regarding the model used for data centers. The utility's 2025 IRP projects up to 9.4 gigawatts of new load in the next decade, which is nearly three times faster than historical trends.

The group that participated in the discussions and opposed the way Georgia Power modeled data centers is not explicitly named in the provided search results. However, it is clear that the issue is a significant one, with potential implications for both Georgia Power and its customers like Microsoft.

In the state of Georgia, there remains disagreement among parties regarding the increase in data center energy consumption figures