Meet Antonio, I&C Technician at Plant McDonough

Antonio grew up in a town called Sweetwater, a small community in Marengo County, Alabama.  After high school, he moved to Tuscaloosa where he worked as an operator in a paper factory before leaving Alabama to join the team at Kia in West Point. It was while taking classes at West Georgia Technical College that Antonio was introduced to the possibility of a career in energy.  

He eventually began working at Plant Wansley before transferring to the team at Plant Bowen. Today, Antonio serves as an Instrumentation and Controls (I&C) technician at Plant McDonough, where he and his team generate most of the electricity used in the Metro Atlanta area, the sixth largest metro region in the country.

Located in Smyrna, Plant McDonough is a state-of-the-art natural gas facility that plays a key role in Georgia Power's energy generation portfolio. Originally a coal-fired plant, it underwent a significant transformation to natural gas in 2011 as part of a broader effort to reduce emissions and modernize energy production. With a capacity to generate over 2,500 megawatts, Plant McDonough is a critical source of electricity for the metro Atlanta area and beyond, providing reliable and efficient power to support the state’s growing energy needs. 

As an I&C technician, Antonio plays a crucial role in the operation of the plant by managing and maintaining its control systems, which are often likened to the brain of the operation. The technician's primary responsibility is to ensure that the data gathered from field instruments, such as temperature, pressure, and flow sensors, is accurately fed into the control system to keep the plant running efficiently and safely. This requires a meticulous understanding of how the plant functions and a deep commitment to safety, as even minor errors can lead to significant operational setbacks. Antonio works closely with various teams to troubleshoot issues and maintain the overall integrity of the plant’s performance, ensuring optimal functionality at all times. 

When Antonio isn’t supplying power to Metro Atlanta, you might find him along with his wife and two children at any of the far-flung tropical locales that they love to visit. Antonio is passionate about travel as well as spending quality time with his family, and always has a few trips up his sleeve.  

If you ask him directly, Antonio will tell you that while he is immensely proud of the work he gets to do, any success he or the plant enjoys is due to the collective effort of the team.  

We’re thankful for Antonio and his team, who are proudly, safely, and efficiently powering Atlanta and the state of Georgia in any time or season.