Georgia Power plans 35-mile transmission line, needs 300 parcels of land

The planned Ashley Park-Wansley 500-kV transmission line will require more than 300 parcels of land, including residential properties, to carry power through a 35-mile corridor in metro and west Georgia. The route runs from the Ashley Park Substation in Fayette County to Plant Wansley in Heard County, crossing Fulton and Coweta counties as the state’s electricity demand keeps climbing.

The line is part of Georgia Power’s approved 2025 Integrated Resource Plan, which the Georgia Public Service Commission approved on July 15, 2025. The plan projects about 8,500 megawatts of load growth over the next six years, about 2,600 megawatts more than its 2023 update, and says it expects to build more than 1,000 miles of new transmission lines over the next decade. Community meetings are scheduled for the first quarter of 2026, line clearing and grading for the first quarter of 2027, construction in the third quarter of 2027 and completion in the second quarter of 2028.

Georgia Power says data centers will pay the full cost to serve them and that residential customers are not subsidizing that growth. The PSC says its rules ensure customers will see no increase in their bills because of data centers and has put a Georgia Power rate freeze in place through the end of 2028. The Southern Environmental Law Center says the commission approved Georgia Power’s data-center plan in December 2025 without enough customer protections and estimates the buildout could cost customers $50 billion to $60 billion over the life of the resources.

Ansley Brown said her childhood home was built when she was 5 or 6 years old and was intended to become generational wealth for her family. Brown said her family became “overnight lawyers” after Georgia Power said it could seek the property through eminent domain if negotiations failed. Holly Lovett said eminent domain is a last resort, and Georgia Power begins acquisition offers at 125% of fair market value.

Georgia Power says the new line and the rest of the transmission buildout are needed to strengthen the electric system for decades. Cynthia Van Epps said the 500-kV line may end up within yards of her bedroom, while Rachael Maszk in Fayette County said Georgia Power wants to acquire about a third of her property to make room for the project.