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A $26.5 billion loan package will deliver billions of dollars in savings to Georgia and Alabama ratepayers, the US Department of Energy says.
By Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
Over $7 billion in electricity cost savings for customers in Georgia and Alabama will result from a new $26.5 billion loan package for two subsidiaries of Southern Company, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
As has been widely reported, rising demand for data centers has led to increased electricity bills for many.
In Georgia, the issue has also been top-of-mind as data center construction booms.
In 2025, however, Southern Company announced plans to enact multiyear rate freezes, the DOE said.
“Southern Company is among the first utilities working with the DOE and the Trump Administration to restore American energy dominance through common-sense energy investments,” the DOE’s Feb. 25 release stated.
The loans, funded by the Working Families Tax Cut, will “build or upgrade over 16 gigawatts (GW) of firm reliable power to the electrical grid,” the DOE’s statement said.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said the DOE is working with the president to lower energy costs.
“The President has been clear: America must reverse the energy subtraction agenda of past administrations and add more reliable power generation to our electrical grid. These loans will not only lower energy costs but also create thousands of jobs and increase grid reliability for the people of Georgia and Alabama.”
According to the DOE, the loans are “the largest government investment aimed at directly lowering consumer energy costs and increasing grid reliability.”
In total, the loans are designed to help lower Southern Company’s interest expenses by $300 million per year, according to the DOE.
Data centers also be top-0f-mind at Connected America
The nationwide data center boom is presenting new opportunities and challenges alike.
The subject will be the focus of an entire theme at Connected America next month titled Data Center Forum.
Speakers like Mark Gusakov, CEO of The Data Center Alliance, and John Pasta, EVP of Data Center Solutions at JLL, will discuss who is driving America’s data center boom and why.
They’ll also discuss which markets are seeing the most growth, where the biggest opportunities lie for ISPs, and why ISPs should consider partnering with data center providers.
That session, on April 14 at 2 p.m., along with others relating to America’s data center boom, can be found on Connected America’s website.
