Georgia CommonsHB 1063: Electric utilities; protect residential and retail electricity customers from costs associated with data center construction and operation; require
Última acción: 18 de febrero de 2026 · Senate Read and Referred
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.
Los resúmenes de abajo son traducciones de resúmenes en inglés escritos por un modelo de IA (claude-sonnet-5) a partir del texto del proyecto de ley; no forman parte de él. El proyecto de ley está en inglés. Cite el texto, no el resumen. El texto almacenado es la versión Comm Sub, la más reciente que tiene LegiScan.
El resumen en español de este proyecto de ley se está preparando. Mientras tanto se muestra el resumen en inglés.
En lenguaje claro
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.
Qué hace el proyecto de ley
- 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.
A quién afecta
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.
Por qué importa
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.
Disposiciones clave
- 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.
Del proyecto de ley
“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”
“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”
Cronología del estado
- Senate Read and Referred (Senado)
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Cámara de Representantes)
- House Third Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Cámara de Representantes)
- House Withdrawn, Recommitted (Cámara de Representantes)
- House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
- House First Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
- House Hopper (Cámara de Representantes)
Patrocinadores
- Brad Thomas (R, HD-021)
- Jon Burns (R, HD-159)
- Charles Cannon (R, HD-172)
- Sandy Donatucci (R, HD-105)
- Scott Hilton (R, HD-048)
- Victor Anderson (R, HD-010)
Votaciones
- Votación: Cámara de Representantes2 de febrero de 2026
122 a favor, 9 en contra (38 sin votar, 6 ausentes)
- Votación: Cámara de Representantes17 de febrero de 2026
157 a favor, 5 en contra (4 sin votar, 9 ausentes)
Temas
- electric utilities
- data centers
- electricity rates
- Georgia Public Service Commission
- utility contracts