The Georgia House of Representatives has passed House Bill 1063, a measure designed to prevent utility rate increases for residential and retail customers resulting from the high energy demands of data centers and other large-load consumers. The bill was sponsored by State Representative Brad Thomas (R-Holly Springs).
Speaker of the House Jon Burns (R-Newington) expressed support for the legislation, stating, “The Georgia House has presented the strongest, most effective plan to ensure Georgia utility ratepayers aren’t footing the bill for data centers. This bill not only codifies the cost protection regulations adopted by the Public Service Commission but also goes a step further by safeguarding energy affordability for Georgia families and small businesses by ensuring data centers and large-load consumers pay their own way up front.”
House Bill 1063 introduces several requirements: electric utility contracts with data centers must include provisions to shield residential and retail customers from additional costs related to data center operations; minimum billing requirements are mandated in contracts with large-load consumers; protections are codified for other customers in case a data center defaults on its contract; and termination provisions are required if an electric service contract with a data center ends.
Rep. Thomas commented on the state’s growing energy needs: “Georgia is experiencing unprecedented demand for energy from data centers. That growth can be good for our state, but only if it’s managed responsibly. The Public Service Commission has already put strong cost allocation rules in place. House Bill 1063 takes those protections and puts them into statute so they can’t be weakened, reinterpreted or bypassed down the road.”
Jon Burns, who has represented Georgia’s 159th House District since being elected in 2005 to succeed Ray Holland, leads efforts as Speaker during this legislative session.
