Georgia Power Utility Interconnection for EV Chargers
When an EV charging installation draws significant load from the grid, the relationship between the building's electrical system and the serving utility becomes a formal technical and regulatory matter. This page covers the interconnection process specific to Georgia Power's service territory, including application requirements, load notification thresholds, metering configurations, and the points at which utility approval is required before commissioning. Understanding this process is essential for residential, commercial, and multi-unit EV charging projects that risk service capacity conflicts or delayed energization without proper coordination.
Definition and scope
Utility interconnection, in the context of EV charging, refers to the formal process by which Georgia Power reviews, approves, and coordinates the addition of substantial new electrical load onto its distribution network. Unlike a standard service upgrade where a licensed electrician pulls a permit and the utility simply reconnects power after inspection, EV charging projects above defined load thresholds require advance notification or formal application to Georgia Power before installation proceeds.
Georgia Power is a subsidiary of Southern Company and operates as the primary investor-owned utility across most of Georgia. It is regulated by the Georgia Public Service Commission (GPSC), which approves Georgia Power's tariff schedules, rate structures, and interconnection rules. The GPSC's oversight means that interconnection requirements are not solely an internal Georgia Power policy — they carry regulatory weight derived from approved tariff documents.
This page covers Georgia Power's service territory and the GPSC regulatory framework. It does not cover municipalities served by their own electric systems (such as Dalton Utilities or Jackson EMC), electric membership corporations (EMCs), or federally regulated generation interconnections under FERC jurisdiction. Projects outside Georgia Power's territory must consult the applicable utility's tariff and the relevant governing body. For a broader overview of how Georgia electrical systems are structured and regulated, see the conceptual overview of Georgia electrical systems and the regulatory context for Georgia electrical systems.
How it works
The interconnection and load addition process follows a defined sequence. The specific procedural steps vary by project type and load magnitude, but the general framework applies across residential and commercial installations:
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Load assessment — The project engineer or licensed electrician calculates the total new load that EV charging equipment will add to the service entrance. A Georgia EV charger load calculation determines whether the added demand triggers utility notification requirements.
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Service capacity review — Georgia Power evaluates whether the existing service infrastructure (transformers, secondary conductors, distribution feeders) can accommodate the new load. Residential Level 2 chargers drawing 48 amps continuous on a 60-amp circuit represent a 11.5 kW addition; a cluster of DC fast chargers can add 150–350 kW per unit, requiring transformer upgrades or dedicated service feeds.
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Application submission — Commercial installations and any residential project that requires a new or upgraded service point must submit a New Service Application through Georgia Power's online portal. Required documentation includes a site plan, one-line electrical diagram, load schedule, and equipment specifications.
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Engineering review and approval — Georgia Power's distribution engineering team reviews the submitted documents, determines transformer sizing, secondary service routing, and metering placement. This phase typically takes 2–6 weeks for commercial projects, longer for high-demand installations requiring infrastructure construction.
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Tariff rate assignment — Depending on load size, Georgia Power may assign a specific commercial rate schedule. Time-of-use (TOU) rates and demand charge structures directly affect the economics of EV charging electrical demand management strategies, including load management systems referenced in NEC Article 625.
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Meter installation and energization — After all local permits are finaled and inspections passed, Georgia Power installs or reconfigures metering and energizes the service. No charger may be commissioned before this step.
For projects that include distributed energy resources such as solar or battery storage paired with EV charging, a separate interconnection agreement under Georgia Power's Distributed Energy Resources (DER) tariff applies — distinct from the load addition process described here.
Common scenarios
Residential single-family Level 2 installation — A homeowner installing a 240V/48A Level 2 EVSE typically does not trigger a formal interconnection application if the existing 200-amp service has available capacity. The process involves only a local permit, licensed electrician installation, and utility reconnection after inspection. See residential EV charger electrical installation in Georgia for permit pathway specifics.
Residential service upgrade with EV load — When a home requires a panel upgrade for EV charging from 100A to 200A, Georgia Power must coordinate the meter base change. This is a utility-touching activity and requires scheduling a service reconnect — typically a 1–3 day lead time after permit finalization.
Commercial multi-unit or workplace charging — A workplace EV charging electrical system adding 8–20 Level 2 charging ports may add 80–200 kW of peak demand. At this scale, Georgia Power engineering review is mandatory and transformer capacity is evaluated against the existing distribution feeder loading.
DC fast charger installation — A single 150 kW DC fast charger requires three-phase power for EV charging and almost always triggers a formal new service application. Georgia Power may require installation of a dedicated pad-mounted transformer, with costs potentially borne by the applicant under applicable tariff rules. The DC fast charger electrical infrastructure page covers the upstream electrical requirements in detail.
Multi-unit dwelling (MUD) shared charging — Multi-unit dwelling EV charging electrical systems present unique metering challenges because EV load may need to be sub-metered per unit or aggregated under a master commercial account, each requiring different utility coordination pathways.
Decision boundaries
Not all EV charger installations require the same level of utility engagement. The following classification framework identifies when and how Georgia Power coordination becomes mandatory versus advisory:
| Scenario | Utility Contact Required? | Application Type |
|---|---|---|
| Residential L2, existing 200A service, no panel change | No formal application | Permit + reconnect only |
| Residential service upgrade (100A → 200A) | Yes — meter base coordination | Utility reconnect request |
| Commercial ≤ 50 kW added load, existing service adequate | Notification recommended | Load addition review |
| Commercial > 50 kW added load or new service point | Yes — mandatory | New Service Application |
| DC fast charger (any size) | Yes — mandatory | New Service Application + engineering review |
| Solar or storage paired with EV charging | Yes — mandatory | DER interconnection agreement |
NEC Article 625 governs the electrical installation of EV charging systems, including EVSE branch circuit requirements, and is adopted in Georgia through the Georgia State Minimum Standard Electrical Code. The National Electrical Code compliance for Georgia EV charging systems page addresses code-level requirements distinct from the utility's interconnection requirements.
Safety standards for the charger equipment itself fall under UL 2594 (for Level 2 EVSE) and UL 2202 (for DC fast chargers), both referenced in Georgia's adopted codes. These are equipment-level standards enforced at inspection — separate from Georgia Power's interconnection review, which focuses on distribution system capacity and metering.
The Georgia EV charger electrical inspection checklist covers what the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) — typically the local county or city building department — verifies before final approval and utility energization.
For projects involving existing structures with constrained electrical infrastructure, the EV charger electrical retrofit for existing buildings resource identifies the decision points where utility coordination typically becomes unavoidable.
The Georgia EV Charger Authority home provides navigational context across all aspects of EV charging electrical infrastructure in the state.
References
- Georgia Public Service Commission (GPSC) — Regulatory authority over Georgia Power's tariffs and interconnection rules
- Georgia Power — New Electric Service — Official new service application portal
- Georgia Department of Community Affairs — State Minimum Standard Codes — Adoption of the National Electrical Code in Georgia
- NFPA 70 / National Electrical Code, Article 625 — EV charging system electrical installation requirements
- UL 2594 — Standard for Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment — Equipment safety standard for Level 2 EVSE
- UL 2202 — Standard for Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging System Equipment — Equipment safety standard for DC fast chargers
- Southern Company / Georgia Power Tariff Schedules — Rate and tariff documentation governing service and interconnection terms