ATLANTA — Georgia Power and Google announced a landmark agreement on Tuesday to expand nuclear energy production at two of Georgia’s most prominent power plants. It’s a move that regulators say could deliver as much as $900 million in projected savings to customers over the life of the facilities.
The deal centers on extended power uprates (EPUs) at Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro and Plant Hatch near Baxley. Georgia Power called uprates a proven technique that squeezes additional electricity from existing reactor infrastructure without altering core fuel designs.
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The agreement is subject to approval by the Georgia Public Service Commission and was included in filings made Tuesday.
If approved, Georgia Power said the uprates would add about 96 megawatts of new capacity to the electric grid, enough to power tens of thousands of homes, while reinforcing Georgia’s standing as a national leader in clean energy.
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What’s the power plan?
Nuclear energy is already a cornerstone of Georgia’s power supply, the power company said. More than 25% of the state’s electricity came from nuclear sources last year, driven in large part by Plant Vogtle — the nation’s largest generator of clean energy.
The new agreement aims to build on that foundation by unlocking additional output from both Vogtle and Plant Hatch through targeted modifications to turbines, pumps, motors, and cooling systems.
An EPU works by enabling a reactor to operate at a higher licensed thermal power level. The additional heat increases steam flow to the turbine generator, producing more electricity while the plant continues to use its existing reactor fuel design and infrastructure.
An EPU for Plant Vogtle Units 1 and 2 was previously approved by the Georgia PSC as part of the 2025 Integrated Resource Plan. Tuesday’s filings add a new request to approve an EPU for Plant Hatch Units 1 and 2 and introduce a new Nuclear Uprate (NU-1) tariff structure designed to govern how the additional power is allocated and priced.
How does it work?
Under the subscription-based structure, Google will subscribe to the new NU-1 tariff and receive Zero-Emission Credits (ZECs) — certificates representing the carbon-free attributes of the electricity generated by the uprates. The arrangement is modeled on renewable energy subscription programs that Georgia Power has offered for years, adapted here for nuclear power.
The structure is designed to shield non-participating customers from the incremental costs associated with the uprate work. Georgia Power and state regulators have framed the deal as a way to ensure that large-scale corporate clean energy demand does not come at the expense of ordinary ratepayers — and may, in fact, benefit them.
“Many of our large customers have specific clean energy goals, and we continue to work with the Georgia PSC to create programs that not only help them meet their goals, but align with our Customer Protection Pledge, enhancing the reliability and resiliency of the power grid and creating savings for all customers,” Aaron Mitchell, senior vice president of Strategic Growth for Georgia Power, said in a statement. “We appreciate Google’s continued leadership in this space and partnership in developing this program, which we see as the latest example of how large-load growth can benefit all electric customers.”
What’s in it for Google?
For Google, Georgia Power said the agreement reflects a broader strategic push to power its data center operations with around-the-clock clean energy.
Data centers are energy-intensive facilities that require reliable baseload power — something intermittent renewables like wind and solar cannot always provide.
“Google data centers are long-term investments in the communities we call home, catalyzing local economic development and accelerating clean energy deployment. They also serve as a proof point for how we can unlock the significant opportunity to bring online new nuclear power through expanding the capacity of the existing nuclear fleet,” Lucia Tian, director of Advanced Energy Technologies at Google, said.
Tian added that the collaboration with Georgia Power is intended to ensure that digital infrastructure growth goes hand-in-hand with positive local impact, “helping to deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in direct customer benefits and supporting a more affordable, clean, and reliable energy system for all Georgia residents.”
What’s next?
The filings made Tuesday at the Georgia PSC set the formal regulatory process in motion. The commission will review the proposed NU-1 tariff, the EPU request for Plant Hatch and the broader structure of the Google agreement before any work can begin.
If approved by the Public Service Commission, the uprates would expand Georgia’s nuclear generating capacity while delivering long-term financial benefits spread across the utility’s customer base.
The deal arrives at a moment of renewed national interest in nuclear energy, with policymakers, utilities, and technology companies increasingly viewing existing nuclear plants as indispensable assets in the transition to a lower-carbon grid.
Expanding the output of those plants, rather than building new ones from the ground up, is widely seen as one of the fastest and most cost-efficient pathways to additional clean electricity
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