FILE PHOTO: Cooling towers are seen at the nuclear-powered Vogtle Electric Generating Plant in Waynesboro, Georgia, U.S. August 13, 2024. REUTERS/Megan Varner/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A cooling tower is seen at the nuclear-powered Vogtle Electric Generating Plant in Waynesboro, Georgia, U.S. August 13, 2024. REUTERS/Megan Varner/File Photo

By Tim McLaughlin

(Reuters) -Georgia voters on Tuesday night unseated two Republican utility commissioners over escalating electricity rates, in what could be an early signal of a consumer backlash against data centers and Republican President Donald Trump’s aggressive push to develop nuclear power.

The energy needs of AI-fueled data centers are forcing utility regulators throughout the country to reckon with the cost of building billions of dollars of infrastructure projects for new generation and upgraded transmission lines. In some places, consumers have faced higher rates as demand outpaces available power supply.

At least one Wall Street firm reacted swiftly to the special election’s outcome, downgrading the stock of the state’s largest utility, Southern Co, to a “Hold” rating from a “Buy” rating.

Analysts at Jefferies called the election outcome a “resounding Republican loss” and said it boosted the risk profile of Georgia Power, a unit of Southern Co., and would make it harder to increase electricity usage rates. Summer electric bills for Georgia Power customers using 1,000 kilowatts have increased 41% to nearly $190 per month compared to the summer of 2021, according to a survey of residential customers by the Georgia Public Service Commission.

Democrats Alicia Johnson and Peter Hubbard easily unseated Republican incumbent commissioners, each winning more than 60% of the votes cast. They will take seats on Georgia’s Public Service Commission, which regulates major utilities and sets electric rates.

Johnson and Hubbard each ran campaigns that championed fair electric rates and more emphasis on renewable energy. Electricity rates have increased six times in the past two years, their online campaign platforms said.

Georgia electric bills partly reflect massive cost overruns from the construction of the two Vogtle nuclear reactors, which were about seven years behind schedule and cost about $35 billion. That was more than double the original estimate of $14 billion, according to Georgia regulators.

Patty Durand, director of nonprofit Georgians for Affordable Energy, called the election a referendum on nuclear power. Last week, the Trump administration announced an $80 billion deal to buy nuclear reactors from Westinghouse, the same company that landed in bankruptcy in 2017 because of cost overruns at the Georgia nuclear projects.

In a January 2023 report to the Georgia Public Service Commission, analysts estimated electric customers would pay an additional $36 billion to $43 billion over the 60-year lifecycle of the two Vogtle reactors, compared to an alternative gas-fired fuel source.

“Georgia electric customers are getting electric bills that look like monthly car payments,” Durand said.

(Reporting By Tim McLaughlin; Editing by Aurora Ellis)