Increase in Power Use 

Since the formation of Oglethorpe Power Corporation (OPC) in 1974, the corporation’s Member Systems have experienced continuous growth in their need for power. In 1975, the Members had a combined peak demand for power of 1,361 megawatts (MW).  By 2007, that number had swelled to 8,907 MW — a more than six-fold increase.  From 2006 to 2007 alone, peak demand by the Members grew by 813 MW.
    In terms of energy use, the Member Systems required 35,944,150 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electric energy in 2007, up from 34,973,868 MWh the previous year. Of the total, Oglethorpe Power supplied 22,815,174 MWh of the energy the Member Systems required in 2007, or about 63 percent.  The EMCs secure the remainder of their power needs from various other power providers.
    Currently, Oglethorpe Power owns interests in 24 individual generating units representing 4,744 MW of generating capacity. These generating resources include 1,501 MW of coal-fired capacity, 1,411 MW of gas-fired capacity, 1,185 MW of nuclear-fueled capacity, 632 MW of pumped storage hydroelectric capacity, and 15 MW of oil-fired combustion turbine capacity.