Industrial batteries, more EV chargers and higher rates: Georgia's new year in power
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Correction: A prior version of this article misspelled E-Z-GO. The article has been updated.
Even with expanding electrical generation and storage – and new ways to use it – Georgia Public Service vice chairman Tim Echols said that Georgia's consumers should be prepared for electricity rates to go up. The GPSC approved a rate increase at the end of 2021, which would add an average of just under $60 a year for residential customers of Georgia Power.
"Folks are obviously dealing with inflation now when it comes to housing, automobiles, gasoline, food, clothing, furniture, everything is going up, and unfortunately electricity is going to be going up as well," Echols said.
Echols visited the Kiwanis Club of Uptown Augusta on Tuesday to talk about the future of Georgia's energy needs, and gave an exclusive interview to the Chronicle on the trends he sees this year.
The Public Service Commission oversees and regulates utilities in the state, including Georgia Power. Echols sees an expansion of not only solar generation and storage in Georgia, but also expanded electric vehicles and the accompanying charging spots. He also says that along with the Plant Vogtle expansion, increased rates for consumers are inevitable.
The Vogtle expansions at Unit 3 and 4, which are significantly late and over budget, are adding to this. Georgia Power rate payers already pay a monthly tariff that goes towards interest on the project, but none of the capital costs have been incorporated – or will be, until after the units are operational.
"There will be a big hearing about this for each of the units, the rates are still going to go up," Echols said. "We may penalize them for some of the overruns, but it's not going to be enough to substantially lower rates or keep rates the same. Rates are going up and there's unfortunately nothing that can be done to stop that."
Georgia Power also continues to bring in profits over its state-allowed cap, some of which is returned to ratepayers. Echols said he thought the most important thing, though, was that Georgia Power continue delivering its product.
"I think as long as things are functioning properly ... people will feel like they're receiving some value," Echols said.
Batteries to match solar expansion
Georgia has been been ramping up solar for years, and Echols thinks this year is the year the state will start adding industrial batteries to smooth out the power distribution.
"I really think it's going to be batteries this year," said Echols. "I'm talking containerized batteries sitting at what looks like an electric substation, and you're going to see those batteries used to make that solar more efficient, to make it smoother, as they say in the industry."
More: Solar manufacturing may expand further in Georgia, southeast under Build Back Better bill
In a 2019 planning document, Georgia Power committed to 80 megawatts of industrial battery storage. The first project, the 65 MW Mossy Branch Battery Facility, was approved in October of last year by the GPSC. According to John Kraft, Georgia Power spokesperson, GP is looking to both own its own batteries and contract with others for access industrial power storage.
Kraft said more details would be available when the company's 2022 Integrated Resource Plan is filed later this month. An IRP is a three-year energy resource document that Georgia Power last filed in 2019, at which time, the utility agreed to double its use of renewable/solar energy on the state's power grid. Echols said he expects this IRP will include an expansion of batteries.
"I think our commission is ready for this now," Echols said. "We weren't three years ago, I think it was a bit too early, but there's been a lot of battery deployment over the last three years not only in the US but around the world."
More: Amazon announces first Georgia solar project in Burke County
Kraft also said that new announcements on power generation would also be included in the IRP. But Echols expects solar to keep increasing, given demand from major companies in the state.
"One of the biggest differences now is that we have Fortune 500 companies demanding solar," Echols said. "Whether it's Facebook or Rivian or any other Fortune 500 company, they want to be able to report, in their annual report, to their shareholders, look, we're getting the equivalent of our load in Georgia from Georgia made solar panels."
More electric vehicles, too few chargers
More: Sources: Rivian to build $5B electric truck plant in Georgia
With the new arrival of Rivian's electric truck plant along with companies like SK Battery, Echols sees not only increasing manufacturing of electric vehicles in Georgia, but more purchases of electric vehicles as well. Among other things, Echols said that vehicles manufactured in Georgia can be purchased by local governments through state contracts, which may start adding Rivian trucks or Ford F-150 Lightening's with batteries from Commerce, Georgia.
"If you think about what's going to be happening on I-20, you're going to have Rivian coming into here to Augusta where you have Club Car and E-Z-GO," Echols said. "I-20 is going to be the electric avenue for the state of Georgia, because there's going to be so many electric vehicles that are going to be manufactured along this interstate from here back, you know, back to Walton County [near Covington]."
To get to that point, though, Echols thinks there needs to be better charging infrastructure.
"I'm now on my sixth electric vehicle, so I have some experience with it," he said. "I don't think the electric charging network is anywhere remotely ready, not just from a functional and technical standpoint but from an actual pricing standpoint."
Georgia Power currently has 57 fast charging spots throughout the state, along with rebates and lower residential rates for home chargers. They also have a Make Ready program, where customers select a charger and Georgia Power installs, owns and maintains it.
One new organization, the Charge Ahead Partnership, told The Chronicle it is concerned about Georgia Power and other utilities subsidizing the electricity at their charging stations. They want neutral rates for all charging stations, utility owned or otherwise.
Whatever the solution, Echols thinks there is room for improvement.
"I think we have a long way to go in building out an effective charging network that people would feel comfortable using," he said.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Higher electric rates with Plant Vogtle, grid innovations coming
