ATLANTA — State regulators granted Georgia Power the authority for an historic expansion of its capacity to generate electricity in a unanimous vote Friday. The decision by the five elected members of the Public Service Commission, all Republicans, allows the privately-owned monopoly to build five gas-powered plants and supporting infrastructure while contracting for additional power from other suppliers. Critics said the expansion, equivalent to five times the power output of the Hoover Dam, could cost up to $60 billion, saddling generations of Georgians with the bill. The company asked for and got permission to add nearly 10 gigawatts of generating capacity, close to a 50% increase of its capacity. It said its forecasts showed voracious future demand from tech companies that will be building server warehouses to power the internet and artificial intelligence. In a statement after the vote, Kim Greene, chairman, president and CEO of Georgia Power, called the demand “projected unprecedented growth,” noting that the company had filed customer contracts with the commission this year for three gigawatts in new demand. Critics contended that the forecast revenue, based on “trade secret
