Georgia regulators plan data center halt

Big changes are on the way for Georgia's Public Service Commission. The board decides how much Georgia Power can charge. And some customers have expressed a lot of frustration over rate hikes and the surge in data centers. The Democrats taking control promise to do things differently. Fox 5's Rob Durienzo takes a closer look at what's on the line. Well, a lot of voters on Tuesday, both here in Georgia and across the country, were looking to elect people that can help keep data centers out of their communities. That played a role in a big change on Georgia's Public Service Commission. We have not had a Democratic majority on the Public Service Commission in the last 30 years. The blue tsunami hit the commission in charge of your Georgia power bill on Tuesday. Kristen Phillips, an associate professor and anthropologist at Emory University, says that means change is on the way. Much more regulation and oversight of Georgia power. Peter Hubbard and Sheila Edwards defeated their Republican opponents on Tuesday. Both have called for stronger oversights on data centers. Edwards backing Governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms' promise for a moratorium. We need to pause. We need consumers like you. We need experts in this field to sit around the table. I've lived here for 25 years. They've been the center of passionate debates in communities all across Georgia. Georgians are beginning to question whether data centers bring the kind of economic growth that they want. We're paying higher rates at home because these data centers are gobbling up more and more energy. Sasha Haworth started a group advocating for more regulation over big tech. Thursday's massive plummet in the stock market, driven by fears of AI oversight, she thinks is a small price to pay. It is going to correct itself. Now, Now, I think that we have to let those concerns play out. Back at the Public Service Commission, Phillips says it'll probably be a while before you notice any changes. I do anticipate that we will see some very different, a different style of regulation and decision-making on the commission, but some of those effects won't actually go into place for a number of years. The new commission will be sworn in on New Year's Day 2027. Data centers will also be a big topic in the next legislative session that starts January 11th, 2027. In Atlanta, Rob DiBrianzo, Fox 5 News.