In only seven short years 1.1 million new people will call Georgia
home, bringing our state's population to just under 10 million.
That
puts even more pressure on the infrastructure we use to provide
essential services-clean water, uncongested streets and, of
course, plenty of electricity.
Through
the high growth 90s, Georgia's EMCs worked hard to keep up
with the 47 percent rise in the demand for electric power.
And we can't blame all the increase on newcomers; all of us
played a role every time we plugged in a new electric appliance
or electronic device.
Electricity
can't be stored on a shelf like other consumer products. We
have to be ready to meet the demand well before it occurs.
Georgia's
EMCs keep up with that demand through careful planning and
efficient construction of generation, transmission and distribution
facilities, the three pieces required for the reliable delivery
of electricity.
The
backbone of the system is a network of high voltage transmission lines
that carry the power from generating plants to local distribution
substations. Transmission lines do their job so well that
most of us don't even think about them. As the demand for
electricity grows-it's expected to jump 25 percent by 2010-opposition
to some new transmission lines is also growing. (article
continues below)
Video:
Your Right to Light
See
the connection between Georgia's dynamic economy
and
an adequate power supply.
Georgia
Transmission Corporation (GTC), the cooperative that transports power on
those lines to Georgia's EMCs, built over 90 miles of transmission lines
in the last two years. In the course of building these projects, GTC eagerly
listened to anyone with questions or suggestions.
It's
simple: if Georgia is to avoid outages and blackouts in 2010,
we must continue to upgrade and expand the present transmission
system. To prepare to meet the demand and keep your lights
on, GTC expects to invest more than $125 million every year.
None of us want to endure horrors like the ones California's
electric consumers experienced a short time ago.
Not everybody
wants those new lines built near their property. Some are
even urging the General Assembly to pass new mandates that
could result in delaying the construction of needed new transmission
lines. For their part, EMC leaders are urging the Legislature
to move cautiously in considering any new law that would affect
the ability of Georgia's electric utilities to meet the exploding
demand for electricity.
The utilities
are obligated to plan ahead so they can meet the growing demand
for electricity and maintain high standards of reliability.
Present
EMC consumer-owners already depend on those high standards
24 hours a day so they can be productive at work and comfortable
at home.
