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ATLANTA, Georgia — An hour before hearing testimony from the public and advocacy groups, the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) posted a settlement agreement approving Georgia Power’s plan to build the most expensive gas plants in the country, leaving Georgians to foot the bill.

The settlement, which the PSC is expected to vote on during its Dec. 19 meeting, approves Georgia Power’s “Requests for Proposals,” or RFP, despite clear warnings from the Sierra Club, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, and PSC’s own staff that Georgia Power’s plan hinges on a data center bubble. The utility’s proposal is expected to cost at least $15 billion in capital costs, though the total costs have yet to be publicly disclosed. The proposed settlement would dramatically increase Georgian’s energy bills for years to come for data centers that might not even be built. Several counties in Georgia have already passed moratoriums on data centers, awaiting more insight into their potential impact on local communities.

“This proposed settlement is the largest single investment in electric infrastructure in the state’s history. It calls for building the most expensive gas plants in the country and will result in higher prices for consumers and more pollution in our communities. It will cause temperatures to go up, more frequent and more powerful storms, and deadlier floods and heatwaves,” said Dekalb County resident Lisa Coronado during the Dec. 10 hearing. “But Georgia Power doesn’t care about any of that. When the temperatures go up, Georgia Power makes more money because Georgians run their air conditioning more often. When climate-change fueled storms wreck our infrastructure, Georgia Power passes repair costs onto us.”

The settlement includes promises of “downward pressure” for ratepayers’ bills, but Georgia Power’s claim that typical ratepayers will eventually see a reduction of $8.50 per month is short-sighted. First, Georgia Power has made similar promises in the past and continued to raise rates. Second, the proposed rate decrease would only cover three years, whereas ratepayers will have to pay for gas plants for 45 years.

In response, the Sierra Club released the following statement:

“The PSC’s own expert staff said Georgia building gas plants was not in the best interest of ratepayers,” said Adrien Webber, Sierra Club Georgia Chapter Director. “At a time when the PSC should be fighting for affordability for Georgians, they instead push through a plan that will continue to squeeze Georgia families already struggling to make ends meet. As we consider our next steps, it’s clear that the people of Georgia demand change from our PSC and the Sierra Club will continue to fight to make that change happen.

“‘Georgia Power’s agreement is still based on the idea that data center projects are coming, which is not guaranteed,” Webber continued. “The PSC’s own staff saw Georgia Power’s plan as overbuilding for projects that may or may not appear, threatening to leave the cost for ratepayers to pick up. It’s infuriating that Georgia Power and the PSC refuse to even take public comment or insight from advocates into consideration before coming to this agreement. Filing this agreement just an hour before the second round of hearings shows that the PSC refuses to be held accountable to the people of Georgia.”

About the Sierra Club: The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.

Joseph Beasley, a longtime Georgia human rights activist, has died, just a few weeks before what would have been his 89th birthday. 

Born to sharecroppers in Fayette County, Georgia, Beasley said in interviews that a history lesson opened his eyes to the power of activism.  

“When I was able to attend school in a segregated, one-room school house, I learned about the Haitian Revolution that began with the rebellion of African slaves in 1791 and ended when the French were defeated at the Battle of Vertieres in 1803,” Beasley wrote in African Leadership Magazine in 2015. “The battle effectively ended slavery there and got me energized. I remember thinking as I read about it that it was possible to have a different life.”

A veteran of the U.S. Air Force who attended graduate school at Clark Atlanta University, Beasley first joined the Jesse Jackson-founded Operation PUSH in 1976, according to nonprofit The History Makers. In 1979, he moved back to his home state of Georgia to work as the executive director of the organization’s Atlanta chapter. He continued with the organization for decades, eventually being named Southern Regional Director. At the same time, he began serving as the human service director at Atlanta’s Antioch Baptich Church North.

Beasley’s work took him across Georgia and around the world. He traveled to South Africa to register voters ahead of Nelson Mandela’s historic electoral victory in 1994 and went to Haiti to monitor the nation’s second democratic election the next year, The History Makers said.

“Joe Beasley’s legacy runs deep — from growing up on a Georgia plantation to serving 21 years in the Air Force, to becoming a powerful voice for justice through Rainbow PUSH,” Attorney Gerald Griggs wrote. “He spent his life fighting for civil rights at home and abroad. A true global servant for our people.”

Beasley also founded and led African Ascension, an organization with the goal of linking Africans on the continent with those in the diaspora.

“He devoted his life to uplifting our people, confronting injustice, and standing steadfast on the front lines of the struggle for human and civil rights not only in Georgia, but across the globe,” the Georgia NAACP wrote on Facebook. “His voice was bold, his spirit unbreakable, and his impact immeasurable.”

Beasley’s funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.

ATLANTA – Georgia lawmakers say they are drafting legislation to make social media safer for children after a Senate committee spent months hearing from community members and experts. The proposals are expected to be taken up during the upcoming legislative session.

What we know:

Georgia lawmakers are joining states nationwide in pressing for tougher laws to hold social media companies accountable for children’s safety on their platforms and when those users interact with artificial intelligence.

The Senate Impact of Social Media and Artificial Intelligence on Children and Platform Privacy Protection Study Committee spent months hearing from parents and experts about how to make the internet safer for kids.

What they’re saying:

Democratic state Sen. Sally Harrell, who co-chairs the committee, said it adopted its final report Wednesday.

She said lawmakers are working on bipartisan bills to address growing concerns about how social media, gaming, AI and other online platforms are affecting Georgia children. The proposals include legislation to prevent companies from using addictive design features in social media and games, as well as requirements for developers to test chatbots to ensure they are safe for children to interact with.

“Congress should be acting,” Harrell said. “This should be a congressional issue. It should be dealt with nationally. But Congress isn’t doing anything. They haven’t done anything to help our kids be safe online for almost 30 years. And so the states really feel like we have to take leadership on this.”

What’s next:

Lawmakers stressed that this is a bipartisan effort and encouraged the public to work with them, noting they are already receiving pushback from some of the companies that own and operate major social media platforms.