Where Does Our Power Come From?
Great question! Covington is what is known as a "distribution utility". It does not generate electricity locally, but owns a portion of the electric output of several plants through its membership in the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG). Those plants are Vogtle (nuclear), Hatch (nuclear), Scherer (coal) and Wansley (coal and natural gas).
Covington also purchases electricity from the Southeastern Power Administration (SEPA) which operates hydro-electric plants at Lake Allatoona, Lake Lanier, Lake Russell and West Point Lake.
Electrical requirements above those available from MEAG and SEPA are bought from the wholesale power market. A considerable amount of power is acquired, especially in the summer, from the market. MEAG serves as the agent for Covington and most of the municipal electric systems in Georgia in making the necessary transactions.
In an effort to reduce its dependence on power bought from the market, Covington has joined a number of other MEAG member cities in acquiring a share of the new Plant Vogtle. Additionally, the city is always seeking longer-term market contracts to help stabilize rates.
Power from all of these sources is brought to Covington through the state's Integrated Transmission System operating at high voltages. This high-voltage power is delivered to local substations for distribution along local roads and streets to our customers.
(If all that was TMI, we can also just go with "It's Magic!")