Data Centers: Protecting Georgians from Rising Utility Bills
The problem: Georgia has become one of the top destinations in the country for new data centers, drawn in part by a state sales tax exemption and a utility, Georgia Power, eager to sell more electricity. The massive water and power demands of these facilities are driving up costs, and residential ratepayers are the ones at risk of footing the bill for new power plants and transmission lines built to serve corporate data centers, not Georgia families. Even when the legislature has acted, meaningful reform has stalled: a 2024 bill to pause the data center tax break and study its energy impact passed the General Assembly but was vetoed by Governor Kemp after heavy lobbying from business groups. Georgians are still waiting for real protection from rising bills.
What Sara will do about it:
Support policies that ensure data center developers, not everyday ratepayers, pay for the power and infrastructure their facilities require.
Push for greater transparency around the tax breaks Georgia offers data centers and whether Georgians are getting a fair return on that investment.
Support commonsense guardrails on new data center development, including protections for local water supplies and the communities that host them.
Hold Georgia Power and the Public Service Commission accountable to residential customers, not corporate interests.
Why it matters to her: Sara Fuchs hears from neighbors in District 49 who are watching their monthly power bills climb and wondering why, when new data centers keep breaking ground nearby. She believes economic development can be a good thing for Georgia, but not when it comes at the direct expense of families already stretched thin by the cost of living. As someone who has spent years managing budgets and fighting for community resources to go where they're actually needed, Sara believes Georgia can attract investment without asking working families to subsidize it through their power bills.