Your Georgia Power bill could be going up. Here’s what we know.

ATLANTA — Georgia Power wants to raise your electric bill by about $14 a month, but they need the permission of the Public Service Commission first.

Officials with Georgia Power say they are feeling the effects of inflation just like everyone else.

Channel 2′s Richard Elliot was there as Georgia Power’s CEO met with the Public Service Commission about the reasons behind their proposed hike.

They told the PSC they want to modernize Georgia’s electric grid and have other improvements that need to be made, all of which results in a rate hike.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Many customers say any rate hike would hurt them.

“It’s meaningful. It used to be a lot less. 260′s a pretty good number,” customer Wayne Sanders said. He says he pays $260 a month for electricity.

Georgia Power says it needs more.

Protestors grabbed chalk and wrote their concerns all over the sidewalk around the downtown Atlanta building where the meeting took place.

CEO Chris Womack says the proposed 12% rate hike would be spread out over three years.

“We understand that any request, any rate request has implications to our customers,” Womack said during the meeting.

TRENDING STORIES:

Womack says they plan to modernize the power grid to continue moving away from fossil fuels and clean up existing coal ash sites around the state.

“We plan to invest 12 billion dollars over the next three years in statewide infrastructure for the benefit of our 2.7 million customers,” he said.

During the public comment on the portion of the meeting, not everyone agreed.

“I’m almost insulated about being here, coming here to beg you not to raise these rates,” said customer Eugene Vickerson.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

The PSC will continue getting input from different groups and the public as it considers the rate hike request.

A decision is expected by the middle of December.

IN OTHER NEWS:

This browser does not support the video element.