Southern Co. Gets Largest-Ever DOE Loan to Boost Grid Reliability
The Energy Department issued its largest-ever loan this week—to Georgia-based utility Southern Co. to help foot the bill for several U.S. power projects (POLITICO Pro, subscription).
What’s going on: The $26.5 billion, 30-year loan package to Southern subsidiaries Georgia Power and Alabama Power “will finance five gigawatts of new natural gas generation and six gigawatts of nuclear uprates. It will also pay for hydropower modernization, new battery storage systems and over 1,300 miles of transmission and grid improvement projects, DOE said.”
- The financing will save utility customers in Georgia and Alabama $7 billion, according to the department and Southern, with much of the savings coming from Southern’s three-year freeze of electricity bill rates ( Reuters, subscription).
- Alabama Power will receive almost $4.1 billion of the loan money, and Georgia Power will get the remaining $22.4 billion.
- Together, the utilities serve 4.3 million customers.
Why it’s important: “This bold action will build and expand the use of natural gas, nuclear, hydropower and battery storage while modernizing grid infrastructure to meet the energy demand of America’s communities,” the NAM posted on X following news of the loan.
- “Manufacturers will continue to work with the administration to secure bold investments that deliver American energy dominance.”