Patty Durand
MBA
Georgians for Affordable Energy | Director
Speaker
Track G: Energy Data, Tracking, and Analysis
Session G2: Electric and Utility Rates
September 18, 2025 | 9:00 am - 9:30 am
Power Play: How Georgia's Plant Vogtle, Data Centers, and AI Are Driving Georgia’s Electric Rates
Georgia’s electricity bills are rising—and it’s not just inflation. From the multi-billion-dollar cost overruns at Plant Vogtle, the only nuclear power plant built in the U.S. in the past 30 years, to the Georgia Public Service Commission’s rules on massive data center expansions, ratepayers are footing the bill for decisions they didn’t make. This presentation unpacks how “cost reshuffling” hides the true price of these projects, how industrial and AI-driven data center demand is shaping energy policy, and what new legislation could mean for who really pays.
Speaker Bio
Patty Durand founded Georgians for Affordable Energy in March 2025, a nonprofit that seeks utility reform in order to advance clean, affordable energy and a competitive marketplace in Georgia.
From 2010 to 2021 Patty was executive director of the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative, a nonprofit focused on energy research. In 2022 Patty ran for a seat on the Georgia Public Service Commission. Although that election was cancelled due to litigation, Patty has remained active at commission proceedings and has a large newsletter following on Georgia energy matters.
Prior to leading the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative, Patty worked at Georgia Tech on grid modernization projects and was state director of the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club. Patty lives in Atlanta, loves live music, writing, and has an MBA from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.