# Richmond County, Georgia: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Augusta and Hephzibah Richmond County is one of the places the data center build-out is physically happening. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 4 data centers in Richmond County. Richmond County and the city of Augusta share the same boundaries; Hephzibah, Blythe also lie inside it. The Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure here (1 in force); the latest is “County moratorium on data centers through September 19, 2026”. Construction employs 3,201, down 4.9% since 2019. 6 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly solar. 4 data centers on the SAVRN Data Center Map 128 MW of operating power plants, mostly other technologies 15.49¢ per kWh for Georgia Power Co residential customers, 2024 ## Cities and towns in Richmond County Richmond County and the city of Augusta share the same boundaries; Hephzibah, Blythe also lie inside it. Augusta201,999 residents Hephzibah3,815 residents Blythe745 residents · 93% of the city 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 Richmond County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Georgia | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 206,581 | 206,559 | ● 0.0% | 11th of 159 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 104,762 | 104,220 | ▼ 0.5% | 115th of 159 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $47,501 | $60,399 | ▲ 27.2% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 3,365 | 3,201 | ▼ 4.9% | 86th of 97 by growth | | Power line construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 85 | 92 | ▲ 8.2% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 4.7% | 4.6% | ▼ 0.1pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 6 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | Its power plants have 128 MW of capacity, 36% of it other technologies. Georgia Power Co is the largest utility serving Richmond County, one of 4 with territory here. Its residential customers paid an average 15.49¢/kWh in 2024, above the 13.61¢ median for Georgia utilities. Employers here counted 104,220 jobs in 2025, down 0.5% from 2019. Unemployment was 4.6% in August 2026, against 4.7% in 2019. 206,559 people live here, down 0.0% since 2020. ## Who powers Richmond County ### Utilities with service territory in Richmond 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% | | Jefferson Electric Member Corp | Cooperative | Bundled | 34,490 | 13.27¢ | 12% | | Planters Electric Member Corp | Cooperative | Bundled | 16,385 | 14.53¢ | 13% | | City of Sylvania - (GA) | Municipal | Bundled | 1,913 | 12.88¢ | 37% | 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 | 46 MW | 36% | | Natural gas | 39 MW | 30% | | Solar | 38 MW | 30% | | Hydro | 6 MW | 4% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Clearwater Paper Corporation - Augusta | Clearwater Paper Corporation - Augusta | Other technologies | 85 MW | 1960 | | Fort Gordon Solar Facility | Georgia Power Co | Solar | 30 MW | 2016 | | Richmond County GA S2 LLC | SolRiver Capital LLC | Solar | 3 MW | 2023 | | Apalachicola | Westbound Solar LLC | Solar | 2 MW | 2019 | | Richmond Hayes Solar | Westbound Solar LLC | Solar | 2 MW | 2018 | | King Mill | Augusta Canal Authority | Hydro | 2 MW | 1944 | ## The Richmond County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 104,220 | $60,399 | 1.00 | | Construction | 3,201 | $68,794 | 0.58 | | Power and communication line construction | 92 | $81,019 | 0.55 | | Data processing and hosting | 112 | $75,872 | 0.35 | 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 Richmond County 4 data centers in Richmond County are on the SAVRN Data Center Map. ### Local measures | Measure | Status | Date | |---|---|---| | County moratorium on data centers through September 19, 2026 | In force | 2026-01 | ## Richmond County and its neighbors Of the 6 counties that border Richmond County, Burke 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 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Richmond County | 206,559 | ▼ 0.5% | 128 MW | — | 4 | 1 | | Aiken County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/aiken-county) SC | 181,515 | ▲ 8.7% | 855 MW | — | 3 | — | | Burke County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/burke-county) | 24,408 | ▼ 46.9% | 5,166 MW | 76 MW | — | — | | Columbia County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/columbia-county) | 169,189 | ▲ 17.5% | 21 MW | — | 5 | 1 | | Edgefield County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/south-carolina/edgefield-county) SC | 29,808 | ▲ 10.7% | — | — | — | — | | Jefferson County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/jefferson-county) | 15,011 | ▲ 2.6% | 261 MW | — | — | — | | McDuffie County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/mcduffie-county) | 21,640 | ▲ 3.7% | — | 250 MW | 1 | — | ## More of Georgia [All Georgia countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia)[Columbia County169,189 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/columbia-county)[Burke County24,408 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/burke-county)[McDuffie County21,640 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/mcduffie-county)[Jefferson County15,011 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/jefferson-county) ## Richmond County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in Richmond County, Georgia? 4 utilities have service territory in Richmond County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Georgia Power Co, Jefferson Electric Member Corp, Planters Electric Member Corp, City of Sylvania - (GA). The largest, Georgia Power Co, charged residential customers 15.49¢/kWh on average in 2024. ### What county is Augusta, GA in? Augusta is in Richmond County, Georgia. About 201,999 people live there (2025 Census estimate). ### What power plants are in Richmond County? 8 operating plants with 128 MW of capacity. The largest is Clearwater Paper Corporation - Augusta (85 MW, other technologies). ### Are there data centers in Richmond County? Yes. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 4 data centers in Richmond County. ### Is Richmond County adding jobs? Employers counted 104,220 jobs in 2025 against 104,762 in 2019 (-0.5%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 3,365 to 3,201. ### Does Richmond County have a data center moratorium? The SAVRN Moratorium Tracker holds 1 local measure for Richmond County, 1 in force. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/georgia/richmond-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/).