MEAG Power on March 18 celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding.
The Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia was created on March 18, 1975 by an Act of the Georgia General Assembly and tasked with the mission of generating and transmitting reliable, affordable wholesale electricity to municipalities that operated their own electric distribution system.
“Though the world has changed dramatically since 1975, MEAG Power has remained steadfast in our focus on delivering reliable, cost-effective power to our 49 Participants,” said MEAG Power President & CEO Jim Fuller. “Our success in fulfilling this mission is a testament to the dedication and hard work of MEAG Power’s Board members and employees throughout the years, and the trust and support of our Participants. We thank the Participants for their long-held partnerships, and we look forward to continuing to serve their needs for many years to come.”
MEAG Power was born out of the desire of the Power Section members of the Georgia Municipal Association, known as the Electric Cities, to better control their energy future at a time when load growth was outpacing available generation and they were dependent on a single private utility for supply of increasingly costly electricity. The opportunity arose in 1974 for public power organizations in Georgia to acquire electricity directly from Plants Hatch and Vogtle, new nuclear projects that were in development.
This required the creation of a legal Authority to function as an electric utility that could buy shares of ownership in the plants and supply the power to the members. Once created, 47 of the 52 qualifying Electric Cities signed long-term power sales agreements with the Authority, with the city of Oxford joining in 1986 and Acworth joining in 2002.
Today, MEAG Power is recognized as a leading joint action agency in the U.S., with a diverse, clean energy portfolio – delivering, on average, 65% emissions-free energy since 2016 – that compares favorably with both state and national averages.
It has 2,500 MW of total capacity from nuclear, hydro, natural gas and coal resources, with its first solar initiative under construction. MEAG Power also owns 1,300 miles of high voltage transmission, more than 210 substations, and is a co-owner of the Integrated Transmission System (ITS), a 17,800-mile transmission network covering 90% of Georgia.
