AUGUSTA, Ga. — Millions of Georgians lost power after Hurricane Helene and could soon pay for the damage those outages caused.

In Augusta, most households lost power for some time after Helene – and some people lost power for weeks. The power outages led to a lack of open gas stations, store closures, curfews, and traffic problems that continue to this day in the form of out-of-sync traffic signals.

In a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Georgia Power noted to shareholders that Hurricane Helene cost the company $1.1 billion.

The company called the storm the most destructive it has ever faced, causing significant damage to transmission and distribution assets.

At the end of the note, the company said: “It is expected that the storm damage recovery rate will be adjusted as part of the next base rate event.”

Every three years, Georgia Power submits a so-called base rate case to the Georgia Public Service Commission, which regulates the company.

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As part of a basic tariff case, the company can request an increase in its customers’ tariffs for various reasons.

The next scheduled base rate event is in 2025. You may remember the base rate event in 2022, in which the PSC approved a 12% rate increase for Georgia Power customers.

This increase is currently being introduced.

When asked if the company planned to raise rates again, this time because of damage from Hurricane Helene, company leaders responded that they maintain a storm recovery account and that a portion of each customer’s bill is used to cover recovery costs after storms.

The PSC determines the rate that customers will be charged for the account.

In the same SEC filing, Georgia Power said its storm recovery account balance was $1.2 billion as of Sept. 30. The money in this account would have to cover damage from all storms of the year, not just Hurricane Helene.

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