Georgia's grip on utility regulation has hit a snag as an environmental watchdog group rails against election delays that keep the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC), and their consecutive rate hikes for customers, unchecked by the ballot box. The group insists that pushing PSC elections out to 2025 disenfranchises voters, particularly when the commission has repeatedly green-lit Georgia Power's cost-increasing requests, reports WABE.
As represented by plaintiff Brionté McCorkle, executive director of Georgia Conservation Voters, the lawsuit underscores concerns of several million affected Georgia Power customers. McCorkle told WABE, “Not only has the commission relentlessly increased power bills on Georgians who are in the midst of dealing with inflation from all angles, they have passed the largest rate increase the state has ever seen to cover Vogtle cost overruns.” She added that another proposal likely to be approved would drastically expand methane gas infrastructure in the state, potentially derailing U.S. climate goals for 2030.
The current five-member PSC, all Republicans, regulates most of the state's investor-owned utilities. Their decisions affect how Georgia Power utilizes its energy resources and determines charges to its customers. There has been a growing public outcry as Georgia Power successfully petitioned the PSC for multiple rate hikes, including those to bankroll the controversial $35 billion Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion.
New legislation, House Bill 1312, has shuffled the PSC elections, aiming to restore the traditional staggered election cycle. Macon Republican Sen. John Kennedy explained the bill ensures "continuity and not quick or unnecessary change of leadership of a Public Service Commission." Simultaneously, some assert the revised schedule could extend certain commissioners' terms to nearly a decade, a point raised by Democratic challenger Patty Durand, reports WABE.
Meanwhile, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger's decision to cancel three PSC elections, despite the chance for primary and general elections later this year, has fueled the debate. Durand criticized the move, saying, "If the mandate were released in April in May or June, of course there is enough time for the Secretary of State to put the election on the ballot for November." Amid these contentions, the future of PSC elections, and the rates consumers will pay, hang in the balance.
