Georgia CommonsHouse · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 1320: Public utilities; nuclear energy generation facilities in the integrated resource plan; provide
Last action February 25, 2026 · House Committee Favorably Reported
A Georgia House bill would add nuclear power plants to the list of energy sources utilities must weigh when they file their long-term supply plans with state regulators.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia law already requires large utilities to file an integrated resource plan every few years with the Public Service Commission, showing how they will meet future electricity demand. As part of that plan, utilities must show the economic, environmental, and other benefits of options such as energy efficiency, power pooling, purchases from other states, alternative energy facilities, and cogeneration or hydro-generation facilities. This bill adds "facilities which use nuclear energy to generate electricity" to that list of options utilities must address in their plans, and relabels the following lettered items to make room for it. It does not create new funding, permitting rules, or safety requirements specific to nuclear plants; it simply adds nuclear generation to the menu of supply sources utilities must evaluate. The bill also repeals any conflicting laws, a standard closing provision.
What the bill does
- Adds nuclear energy generation facilities as a listed option utilities must evaluate for economic, environmental, and other benefits in their integrated resource plans.
- Renumbers the existing list of energy sources and facility types (alternative energy, cogeneration, hydro-generation, and other options) to fit the new nuclear category.
- Leaves unchanged the existing filing schedule (every three years) and the Public Service Commission's 120-day deadline to approve each plan.
- Repeals any other state laws that conflict with this change, a routine closing clause.
Who it affects
This affects large regulated electric utilities in Georgia, such as Georgia Power, that must file integrated resource plans, as well as the Public Service Commission, which reviews and approves those plans, and ultimately utility customers whose rates and energy mix depend on the approved plan.
Why it matters
By formally listing nuclear power alongside options like efficiency programs and power pooling, the bill directs utilities to explicitly address nuclear generation when justifying their future power supply choices, which could shape how future plants like additions to Plant Vogtle are considered in state regulatory review.
Key provisions
- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 46-3A-2(b)(3) to add a new item (D): 'Facilities which use nuclear energy to generate electricity' to the list of supply sources a plan must justify.
- Section 1 relabels the former (D) alternative-energy facilities item and (E) cogeneration/hydro-generation item to (E) and (F) respectively, and the former (F) catch-all item to (G).
- The existing three-year filing requirement for utility integrated resource plans and the commission's 120-day approval deadline remain unchanged.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard closing provision with no substantive effect on its own.
From the bill
“Facilities which use nuclear energy to generate electricity;”
Discussed in meetings (5)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
House Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications Committee, February 24, 2026
From 0:02:20 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 1320 would explicitly add facilities using nuclear energy to generate electricity to the options considered in integrated resource planning. The sponsor described the change as a reminder to Georgia Power to consider nuclear power as technology advances, including future fusion technology. The sponsor called nuclear power the most important energy source to pursue and predicted that fusion could eventually supply electricity on a very large scale. No committee members asked substantive questions, and no public witnesses spoke. The committee approved a do-pass motion by voice vote, with no opposition heard and no numerical tally stated.
House Rules Committee, March 2, 2026
From 0:27:14 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 1320 would add nuclear energy to the resources considered in Georgia Power's integrated resource plan submitted to the Public Service Commission every three years. No questions or decision followed.
Status timeline
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Don Parsons (R, HD-44)
- Robert Dickey (R, HD-134)
- Bill Werkheiser (R, HD-157)
- Gerald Greene (R, HD-154)
- Victor Anderson (R, HD-10)
Topics
- nuclear energy
- public utilities
- energy policy
- Public Service Commission
- electricity regulation