Welcome to POWER4Georgians!

Purpose

The purpose of the Power4Georgians consortium is to work together to ensure dependable, reliable and affordable energy for its members by developing new generation resources, maximizing existing energy sources, exploring renewable energy options and promoting energy efficiency.

Overview

• Georgia’s Electric Membership Cooperatives (EMCs) are not-for-profit and member-owned local power distribution companies. They serve more than 4 million citizens across 73 percent of the state and are growing by three to four percent annually.
• Although Oglethorpe Power Corporation (OPC) provides baseload generation for 38 EMCs across Georgia, most also buy supplemental power from wholesalers to ensure reliable and affordable power to meet demand.
• By 2013, many of these supplemental power contracts will expire. When combined with our forecasted growth, wholesalers are expected to charge substantially higher prices for contracts that are renewed.Most contracts will not be renewed because some contracts have been sold to other companies and renewal terms are unfavorable for members of the respective EMCs. Therefore, the EMCs are seeking ways to develop reliable sources of power at affordable prices.
• Within the next five years, there simply will not be enough generating capacity or wholesale power available to allow co-ops to continue providing affordable and reliable electricity to its residential and business members.
• Ten EMCs have come together to develop a comprehensive energy plan, entitled “Power4Georgians.” The successful implementation of this plan will help the co-ops provide for the stable, long-term supply of affordable, reliable and dependable energy for its members and future growth.
• The Power4Georgians plan contains multiple strategies aimed at managing energy usage as well as exploring and adding new energy supplies. These strategies include: promoting energy efficiency, developing renewable energy, optimizing existing power sources, and building new generation resources.