---
title: HB 1063. Electric utilities; protect residential and retail electricity customers from costs associated with data center construction and operation; require
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1063
cite_as: HB 1063, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1063
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1063.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1063/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72514
date: 2026-02-18
status: engrossed
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 698
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bill_number: HB 1063
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-17
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- Brad Thomas
- Jon Burns
- Charles Cannon
- Sandy Donatucci
- Scott Hilton
- Victor Anderson
text_version: Comm Sub
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1063/2025
upstream_id: 2100505
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- electric utilities
- data centers
- electricity rates
- Georgia Public Service Commission
- utility contracts
---
# HB 1063. Electric utilities; protect residential and retail electricity customers from costs associated with data center construction and operation; require
## Text
House Bill 1063 (COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE)
By: Representatives Thomas of the 21st, Burns of the 159th, Cannon of the 172nd, Donatucci
of the 105th, Hilton of the 48th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 1 of Chapter 3 of Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to generation and distribution of electricity generally, so as to require electric utilities
to protect residential and retail electricity customers from costs associated with data center
construction and operation; to require certain contract terms and conditions; to provide for
an applicability date; to provide for enforcement; to provide for definitions; to provide for
related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 1 of Chapter 3 of Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
generation and distribution of electricity generally, is amended by adding a new part to read
as follows:
"Part 6
46-3-80.
As used in this part, the term 'data center' means a facility, campus of facilities, or array of
interconnected facilities used by an entity or other business enterprise to operate, manage,
or maintain a computer, group of computers, or other organized assembly of hardware and
software for the primary purpose of processing, storing, retrieving, or transmitting data and
that have a peak annual electricity demand of 100 megawatts or greater.
46-3-81.
Each contract between an electric utility and a data center for the provision of electric
service shall include terms and conditions designed to protect residential and retail
electricity customers from costs associated with data center construction and operation,
including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) Minimum billing requirements designed to recover incremental costs associated with
serving or preparing to serve a data center;
(2) A contract term that may exceed the length of the applicable service tariff;
(3) Performance and credit provisions designed to protect retail customers in the event
of contract default; and
(4) Termination provisions designed to protect retail customers in the event of
termination of the contract for electric service.
46-3-82.
The provisions of this part shall only apply to agreements between an electric utility and
a data center entered into on or after the effective date of this Act.
46-3-83.
Pursuant to the commission's jurisdictional authority under Code Section 46-2-20, the
commission shall make determinations related to compliance with this Code section."
SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
House Bill 1063 would require Georgia electric utilities to include customer-protection terms in contracts with large data centers, so residential and small business ratepayers do not absorb the costs of building power infrastructure for those facilities.
### Plain-language summary
Large data centers use huge amounts of electricity, and building the power plants, lines, and infrastructure to serve them can be expensive. This bill addresses who pays for that: it adds a new part to Georgia's electric utility law requiring that any contract between an electric utility and a qualifying data center include specific protections for residential and retail customers.
A 'data center' is defined as a facility or connected group of facilities used mainly to process, store, or transmit data with peak electricity demand of 100 megawatts or more. Contracts with these data centers must include minimum billing requirements, contract terms that can run longer than standard tariffs, credit and performance safeguards in case of default, and protections if the contract ends early. These rules apply only to contracts signed after the bill becomes law, and the Georgia Public Service Commission would enforce compliance under its existing authority.
### What it does
- Creates a new legal definition of 'data center' in Georgia utility law: a facility or connected group of facilities with peak electricity demand of 100 megawatts or more.
- Requires electric utility contracts with qualifying data centers to include minimum billing terms meant to recover costs tied to serving or preparing to serve the data center.
- Allows those contracts to run longer than the utility's standard service tariff term.
- Requires contracts to include credit and performance provisions protecting retail customers if the data center defaults.
- Requires termination provisions that protect retail customers if the data center's electric service contract ends early.
- Limits the new rules to contracts signed on or after the bill's effective date and gives the Georgia Public Service Commission enforcement authority.
### Who it affects
Electric utilities operating in Georgia, large data center operators with electricity demand of 100 megawatts or more, and residential and small business electricity customers who could otherwise bear costs from data center infrastructure. The Georgia Public Service Commission would gain a new enforcement role.
### Why it matters
As data centers expand across Georgia, building new power capacity for them can be costly. This bill aims to keep those costs tied to the data centers themselves rather than spreading them to household and small business electric bills, through required contract safeguards.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 adds Part 6 to Article 1 of Chapter 3 of Title 46, defining 'data center' as a facility or connected facilities with peak annual electricity demand of 100 megawatts or greater (O.C.G.A. § 46-3-80).
- O.C.G.A. § 46-3-81 requires utility contracts with data centers to include minimum billing requirements, extended contract terms, default protections, and termination protections for retail customers.
- O.C.G.A. § 46-3-82 limits these requirements to contracts entered into on or after the bill's effective date.
- O.C.G.A. § 46-3-83 gives the Georgia Public Service Commission authority to determine compliance with these requirements.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting state laws.
## Status
- Status: Engrossed (2026-02-17)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2026-02-18)
- Sponsors: Brad Thomas, Jon Burns, Charles Cannon, Sandy Donatucci, Scott Hilton, Victor Anderson
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72514
> The history, votes, and amendments (698 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1063.md?full=1