Tell the PSC: Transparency and guardrails needed for OpenAI contract

OpenAI has proposed a 3.2 gigawatt data center in Effingham County outside Savannah, and its contract with Georgia Power to supply all that electricity is shrouded in secrecy. The only information released to the public is the document below, showing that the contract has been "redacted in its entirety."

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This means the public has no idea how much OpenAI will be paying for electricity, whether the contract includes any consumer protections, or how much OpenAI is committing to pay for the billions of dollars worth of upgrades to our electric system.

Once fully built out, the data center would be the largest electricity user in Georgia and would consume nearly three Plant Vogtle reactors' worth of electricity.

OpenAI's contract with Georgia Power is being reviewed by the Public Service Commission (PSC) staff, who have until August 26 to officially "object" to the contract. If the PSC staff don't object, the contract would be approved without any additional public disclosure. But if the PSC staff files an objection, the contract will be publicly reviewed by the elected members of the Public Service Commission.

Tell the PSC that their staff MUST file an objection so that the public has more information about this multi-billion dollar project that will impact Georgians, and our power bills, for years to come.

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Transparency and guardrails needed for OpenAI contract

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“Project Camellia,” OpenAI’s proposed 3.2 gigawatt data center in Effingham County, is one of the largest projects in our state’s history. Billions of dollars will be spent to build and power this facility, which would become the largest electricity consumer in Georgia once fully built out. Given the scale of this proposed data center, I’m writing to ask that you encourage the PSC’s Public Interest Advocacy staff formally object to the proposed contract between Georgia Power and OpenAI for this project (Docket #44280, Document Filing #227259). The public version of this contract is redacted in its entirety, which prevents your constituents from making informed comments to you and your colleagues on the PSC, who are tasked with representing their interests. Objecting to the contract would allow the PSC the opportunity review the contract, which deserves to be discussed in the open because of the enormous impacts it will have not just in Effingham County, but throughout our state. In order to facilitate this, I also request that the PSC make public as much the contract as possible. At minimum, this should include information about termination penalties, which helps the public know the level of risk they might be taking on if OpenAI leaves the contract early. Finally, I believe the PSC should review and update its rules for large load customers so that PSC staff is not negotiating multi-billion-dollar contracts with Georgia Power behind closed doors in just 30 days. PSC staff play a critical role in this process, but our elected officials on the PSC should have final say. No contract of this size should be approved by default if staff declines to formally object. Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter.

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