Extreme heat and high power bills leave Georgia Power customers ‘scrambling’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Columbus residents face mounting energy bills as heat advisories increase yearly.
- Georgia Power rates and climate-fueled heat spikes strain low-income households.
- LIHEAP funding cuts threaten critical relief for thousands facing utility shutoffs.
Columbus resident Stacey Dowling decided to forego central air conditioning and rely on window air units in her home, in an attempt to lower her Georgia Power bill during the summertime when the Peach State sizzles and bills go up.
But with temperatures frequently over 95 degrees, and hitting “feels like” or heat index temperatures of 103 degrees throughout June and July, Dowling faced a miserable living situation inside her home. Meanwhile, she says she is paying around $600 per month to Georgia Power.
“This situation literally has me scrambling,” she told the Ledger-Enquirer. “There’s no peace in my life, and there’s no peace in my home, because every day it’s a constant battle trying to survive. I feel like I’m working for Georgia Power.”
Dowling owns the home, so her biggest expense is her power bill. A few months ago, after a car accident, she lost her job and began managing and cleaning Airbnb properties that pay about $150 per cleaning day. The Airbnbs are the only place she gets reprieve.
“I work myself to death trying to keep my power on, and I’m getting nowhere … it’s either eat or have power,” she said.
Dowling is on the pre-pay plan with Georgia Power, which can slide into the negative, causing power to go out. She’s had a few days without power and said right away she can feel the heat.
“I wake up every other morning and my power is off,” she said in mid-July. “I give them $100 and two days later, I have no power. I’m still hot and sweaty and miserable. It just makes no sense.”
Georgia Power is required to suspend disconnection service when a heat advisory or an excessive heat warning determined by the National Weather Service goes into effect for the specific county where the meter is, as deemed by the Public Service Commission, the entity that regulates Georgia Power.
“We use a third-party vendor that automatically scans NOAA Weather data and advisories early each morning for the next 24-hour period and indicates to our Customer Service organization the suspension of disconnects in counties where a heat advisory has been issued,” Georgia Power spokesperson John Kraft said over email. “Customer Service leadership examines this and intervenes manually as needed to refine the process daily, as well.”
Rates and high temps drive up the price
Georgia Power usage rates are higher in the summer, causing bills to be higher.
In addition to high summer usage rates, the energy burden customers such as Dowling are feeling stems from six approved rate increases granted by the PSC.
“Over the past two years, the average Georgia Power bill has climbed more than $43 a month,” the Southern Environmental Law Center said in a recent press release.
Summers are already notoriously hot in the South. But dangerously hot days are occurring more frequently than they used to, especially in Columbus.
“Our parents and grandparents didn’t face as many dangerously hot days as we’re seeing now,” said Shel Winkey, a meteorologist at Climate Central. “Today, extreme heat — boosted by burning fossil fuels — is becoming the new summer norm as the climate warms.”
The National Weather Service has issued three heat advisories so far this summer for Muscogee County, going as far as recommending air conditioning be turned on.
A heat advisory is issued when the heat index or “feels like” temperature may reach 105 degrees. They’re also issued when the temperature may reach 110, according to Laura Belanger, a senior service hydrologist at the NWS in Peachtree City.
Heat advisories were issued June 23-25, when “feels like” temperatures climbed to 103 in Columbus. Advisories also were issued on July 13 and 14, when it felt like 102, and on July 22 when it felt like 103.
All three of the advisories had climate fingerprints, according to Climate Central.
The scientists confirmed the heat streaks were 150% to 200% more likely due to climate change in Columbus. Climate Central scientists compare observed forecasts to simulated climate models – one with human-caused climate change and one without – to determine its climate connection.
Plus, heat advisories are occurring more frequently. There were eight in 2022, 13 in 2023 and 12 in 2024, more than all advisories combined between 2007 and 2014.
Social safety nets can’t reach everyone & may disappear
On the tail end of the July 22 heat streak, Diane Watkins, who has a two-bedroom apartment in North Highlands, said it was 89 degrees in her house Wednesday evening.
Watkins, a 68-year-old retired school teacher, said she only turns on her air conditioning at 8 p.m. so she doesn’t sweat in bed.
“It is never lower than 75 degrees in here,” she said.
Watkins only uses ceiling fans during the day, and her latest Georgia Power bill was $197. Before July, like Dowling, she was on the pre-pay plan.
“I was sending Georgia Power $20 to $30 dollars every two or three days,” she said. “It’s ridiculous.”
She got off the pre-pay plan after she woke up with her lights off one morning this summer.
She uses a fan and sits in the shade when it’s the peak heat of the day, and sometimes will turn on the air conditioner when her grandson is visiting.
Watkins qualifies for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, commonly referred to as LIHEAP. The federally funded program distributes money from the Georgia Department of Human Services to community action partners such as Enrichment Services to supplement utility bills for people that fall in the poverty category.
Last summer, Enrichment Services for Muscogee County served 1,332 people, expending $592,000, according to Belva Dorsey-Mott, CEO of Enrichment Services.
People who qualify are making under $20,000 per year.
In Columbus, that is one in five people, according to Dorsey-Mott.
“One in five residents in Columbus live in poverty, and so we have the opportunity to be responsive to a need that exists,” she said.
They receive a one-time payment in the winter and a one-time payment in the summer.
The payment, which goes directly to the utility provider, used to be $300 a few years ago, and now it’s $500, Dorsey-Mot said.
So far, 1,000 have been served this summer already and the demand for this program far outweighs the money available to assist.
The Georgia LIHEAP office received around $94 million in funding in 2024 and helped 168,000 Georgians. In 2023, it was $156 million and it went to nearly 258,000 Georgians.
Applying and receiving the assistance from Enrichment Services is challenging.
When the phone line opens, it usually fills up with all 2,000 to 3,000 applicants within five minutes, Dorsey-Mot told the Ledger-Enquirer.
Watkins was one of the people who received the funding in 2024 for heating. She said they helped pay $1,000 for her heating and electric bill this past January.
But Dowling hasn’t been so lucky.
“Every time I’ve called them or attempted to talk to (Enrichment Services), they tell me that they’re out of funds,” she said.
In April Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy fired staff for the Department of Health and Human Services, which LIHEAP is within.
Now, LIHEAP is on the chopping block to be completely defunded, according to the latest markup of the Fiscal Year 2026 budget bill. The program receives $4 billion in funding.
Appropriations bills are expected to come in the next two months, with the final bill due by Sept. 30. The new federal fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
“If the funding is eliminated, the state hasn’t said what they would do,” Dorsey-Mot said. “We would continue to identify funding to assist individuals. We wont’ be able assist anywhere close to what we do now, but we would continue to look at partnership with, say, Georgia Power, and see if they could provide any funds or foundations or the organization.”
Kraft said the power company is closely monitoring developments of LIHEAP on the federal level, and the company remains focused on helping customers understand their options.
This story was originally published July 24, 2025 at 3:44 PM.
