Georgia Power Opens Its Largest Battery Storage Facility Near Ball Ground

Georgia Power opened a 530-megawatt battery storage facility near Ball Ground in Cherokee County on Friday, its fourth and largest battery storage site in the state. Yahoo reported that the utility and state and local leaders cut the ribbon on the project, built to strengthen Georgia's power grid.

Inside Georgia Power's Ball Ground Battery Site

The facility houses 1,100 self-contained Tesla batteries stored in individual locker-style units that operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Each megawatt of capacity can power 800 to 1,000 homes, according to the report.

Georgia Power Senior Vice President Rick Anderson said the battery facility forms a vital part of the company's energy mix, complementing nuclear, gas, solar and coal sources. "I think about it like a team sport, like football," Anderson said. He said the system is built to respond immediately if grid problems occur. "If we ever have issues with reliability with the system... have an outage in the system, these batteries will step up, they're really fast," Anderson said.

Site operations feature remote computer oversight. If an issue arises with any battery unit, an automated system signals a monitoring company in Alabama, which then issues a work ticket to be handled by one of nine engineers stationed on site. State Rep. Rick Jasperse, a Republican representing District 11, said the storage capacity will offer critical support during extreme weather. "Flip that switch on when it's July 18th 104 degrees... these things are gonna help," Jasperse said.

Georgia Power's Grid and Customer Base

Georgia Power is a regulated electric utility founded in 1883 and headquartered in Atlanta, serving 2.8 million customers across Georgia as the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, according to akta.pro company records. The same records list total debt of $22.78 billion as of May 2026 and describe a generation mix that includes nuclear, natural gas, coal, solar, hydro and battery storage.

Earlier Georgia Power Developments

In October 2026, a Georgia resident filed a class-action lawsuit against Southern Co., Georgia Power's parent, over a cyberattack that exposed 400,000 customer accounts, including 300,000 Georgia Power customers, Yahoo reported. Georgia Power said in October 2026 that it would begin a two-phase grid upgrade on Tybee Island, with Phase 1 starting that month and Phase 2 in November, Yahoo reported. Also in October 2026, Georgia Power named Joe Brownlee vice president of Region External Affairs, effective immediately, the Valdosta Daily Times reported.

What Comes Next for Georgia Power

Georgia voters will decide two seats on the Public Service Commission, which regulates Georgia Power, with the outcome potentially affecting power bills and the utility's long-term plan due in 2028, Yahoo reported.