Georgia Power plans to build new 500-kilovolt transmission lines in Coweta, Fayette, Heard and Fulton counties, affecting over 330 private properties.
A total of 21 homes will be affected.
The construction of these power lines is set to begin in early 2027 and finish by mid-2028, as the utility company negotiates with homeowners for property acquisition, with eminent domain as a last resort.
Sandra White, a resident of Coweta County, expressed her concerns about the impact on her property.
“I don’t know if any of us have a prayer stopping it, unfortunately,” she told Channel 2’s Bryan Mims.
Georgia Power spokeswoman Holly Lovett addressed the growth in the southern reaches of metro Atlanta as the reason for the new transmission lines.
“We’ve seen it in residential, we’ve seen it commercial, we’ve seen it industrial,” Lovett said.
Sandra White, who rents out a house on her wooded lot, is worried about the environmental impact.
“It’s an old-growth forest over there, whether they want to admit it or not. And you can’t fix that. You can’t put that back,” she said.
White suspects that the power lines are being built to supply a proposed $17 billion data center, which has raised environmental concerns around the county, although Georgia Power has refuted this claim.
Georgia Power’s Holly Lovett clarified that while data centers could be part of the growth, the primary driver is the overall increase in residential, commercial, and industrial demand.
The power lines will stretch 36 miles long, cutting through a swath of private properties, including White’s, who is seeking an offer from the power company for her property.
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