Georgia Power appoints current president Chris Womack as next chairman, CEO
Georgia Power officially named this week current President Chris Womack chairman, president, and CEO, effective June 1.
Womack, who has been company president since November 2020, will replace current Chairman and CEO Paul Bowers. Prior to this, Bowers had helmed Georgia Power for more than a decade. For Womack, though, this is the culmination of a career that has been ongoing since 1988, when he first joined Southern Company — Georgia Power’s parent company.
“We’re not only making history as we move closer to bringing online the first new nuclear units in the U.S. in decades, we’re also growing and evolving as a company,” Womack said. “We’re focused on finding new, innovative ideas and energy solutions that we believe will help build a sustainable energy future for our state and bring incredible value to our customers. Our company has a legacy of providing world-class customer service and reliability to Georgians, and we are committed to continuing that great work. Furthermore, our company, our communities, and our country are all engaged in important work around social justice and racial equity. We will continue to stand together with our neighbors to address these issues because we want to be a part of shaping a future where all Georgians can thrive.”
Womack is taking over at a critical juncture for the Georgia company. It will be adding its first new nuclear units in decades through the Vogtle 3 and 4 nuclear expansion project. It intends to use them for at least the next 60 years as part of Southern Company’s larger plans to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. While Georgia Power already hosts one of the largest voluntary renewable portfolios in the country, it also intends to expand its renewable generation offerings by more than 72 percent within four years, eventually providing 22 percent of its capacity from renewable sources.
Upgrades to transmission and distribution infrastructure are ongoing to reduce the length and frequency of power outages. At the same time, Georgia Power intends to invest $75 million over a five-year period to advance racial equity and social justice efforts in Georgia.
To these efforts, Womack brings a well-traveled resume, having grown up in Greenville, Alabama, graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University, and earned his master’s degree from The American University in Washington, D.C. Before serving as Georgia Power’s president, he worked as an executive vice president and president of External Affairs for Southern Company since 2009.
