# Franklin County, Georgia: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Lavonia, Royston and Franklin Springs Franklin County is one of the places pushing back on the data center build-out. Electrical contractors employ 117, up 207.9% since 2019 against up 21.5% statewide, at an average $71,444 a year. Construction employs 303, up 81.4% since 2019. Franklin County is home to Lavonia, most of Royston (2,010 of its 2,693 residents), Franklin Springs and Carnesville. The Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure here (1 in force); the latest is “County moratorium on data centers through December 31, 2028”. 61 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly other technologies. +207.9% electrical contractor jobs since 2019, now 117 61 MW of operating power plants, mostly other technologies +3.1% total jobs since 2019, now 8,226 ## Cities and towns in Franklin County Franklin County is home to Lavonia, most of Royston (2,010 of its 2,693 residents), Franklin Springs and Carnesville. Lavonia2,200 residents Royston2,010 residents · 75% of the city Franklin Springs1,206 residents Carnesville879 residents Canon695 residents · 95% of the city - Royston also extends into [Hart County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/hart-county). Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Gumlog. Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in Franklin County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Georgia | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 23,476 | 25,948 | ▲ 10.5% | 77th of 159 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 7,981 | 8,226 | ▲ 3.1% | 96th of 159 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $37,406 | $47,943 | ▲ 28.2% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 167 | 303 | ▲ 81.4% | 12th of 97 by growth | | Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 38 | 117 | ▲ 207.9% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 3.6% | 3.7% | ▲ 0.1pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 61 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | 25,948 people live here, up 10.5% since 2020. Its power plants have 61 MW of capacity, 95% of it other technologies. Employers here counted 8,226 jobs in 2025, up 3.1% from 2019. Georgia Power Co is the largest utility serving Franklin County, one of 3 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 15.49¢/kWh in 2024, above the 13.61¢ median for Georgia utilities. Unemployment was 3.7% in August 2026, against 3.6% in 2019. ## Who powers Franklin County ### Utilities with service territory in Franklin County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Georgia Power Co | Investor Owned | Bundled | 2,452,488 | 15.49¢ | 39% | | Jackson Electric Member Corp - (GA) | Cooperative | Bundled | 239,558 | 11.38¢ | 28% | | Hart Electric Member Corp | Cooperative | Bundled | 30,297 | 13.15¢ | 31% | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Other technologies | 58 MW | 95% | | Solar | 3 MW | 5% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | GRP Franklin Renewable Energy Facility | GRP Franklin Renewable Energy Facility, LLC | Other technologies | 58 MW | 2019 | | Franklin Milliken | Safari Energy, LLC | Solar | 3 MW | 2020 | ## The Franklin County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 8,226 | $47,943 | 1.00 | | Construction | 303 | $58,479 | 0.70 | | Electrical contractors | 117 | $71,444 | 1.97 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in Franklin County ### Local measures | Measure | Status | Date | |---|---|---| | County moratorium on data centers through December 31, 2028 | In force | 2026-09 | ## Franklin County and its neighbors Of the 5 counties that border Franklin County, Oconee County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Franklin County | 25,948 | ▲ 3.1% | 61 MW | — | — | 1 | | Banks County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/banks-county) | 21,273 | ▲ 9.5% | — | — | — | — | | Hart County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/hart-county) | 28,639 | ▲ 24.2% | 780 MW | — | — | 1 | | Madison County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/madison-county) | 32,919 | ▲ 22.3% | 60 MW | — | — | 1 | | Oconee County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/oconee-county) SC | 83,775 | ▲ 6.7% | 4,360 MW | — | — | — | | Stephens County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/stephens-county) | 27,854 | ▼ 9.0% | 22 MW | — | — | — | ## More of Georgia [All Georgia countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia)[Madison County32,919 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/madison-county)[Hart County28,639 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/hart-county)[Stephens County27,854 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/stephens-county)[Banks County21,273 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/banks-county) ## Franklin County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Franklin County, Georgia? 3 utilities have service territory in Franklin County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Georgia Power Co, Jackson Electric Member Corp - (GA), Hart Electric Member Corp. The largest, Georgia Power Co, charged residential customers 15.49¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What power plants are in Franklin County? 2 operating plants with 61 MW of capacity. The largest is GRP Franklin Renewable Energy Facility (58 MW, other technologies). ### Are there data centers in Franklin County? The SAVRN Data Center Map has no data center in Franklin County. ### Is Franklin County adding jobs? Employers counted 8,226 jobs in 2025 against 7,981 in 2019 (+3.1%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 167 to 303. ### Does Franklin County have a data center moratorium? The SAVRN Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure for Franklin County, 1 in force. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/franklin-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).