Environmental groups petition court over Georgia PSC power expansion approval

Environmental and faith groups are not giving up their fight with the Georgia Public Service Commission over the approved expansion of Georgia Power’s capacity.

The Southern Environmental Law Center and the Sierra Club filed a petition Wednesday in the Fulton County Superior Court, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The groups argue that the PSC violated state law because Georgia Power never proved all of the new power resources were necessary.

“We are tired of a Public Service Commission bending and outright breaking its rules and the law to give Georgia Power whatever it wants, no matter the cost to our air and water or the impact on our monthly energy bills,” Adrien Webber, a plaintiff in the case and Sierra Club member, told the AJC.

The SELC is representing Georgia Interfaith Power & Light, Park Avenue Baptist Church and the Unitarian Church of Savannah. The Sierra Club is representing itself, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and Webber.

The petition names the PSC as the respondent.

Georgia Interfaith Power and Light, the Southface Institute, the Sierra Club and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, represented by the SELC, petitioned the PSC earlier this year to reconsider their approval of the expansion based on the same argument.

Commissioner Alicia Johnson, who took her seat in January, urged fellow commissioners to consider the petition at the hearing Feb. 12.

“Reconsideration is not delay for delay’s sake,” she said. “I think it is responsible governance, and it reflects our obligation to balance growth with stewardship.”

The PSC denied the petition with a 3-2 vote, with the two newest members voting against staff recommendations. The two newest members are Democrats who won their elections in 2025 after rising discontent with utility costs.

Georgia Power’s expansion would include 10,000 megawatts of new power resources over the next five years mostly reliant on natural gas. The PSC voted to approve the expansion in December before the two newly elected members took office.