EXPLAINER: What’s at Stake in the Georgia Public Service Commission’s Upcoming Primary Elections
- Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon, Atlanta Civic Circle
- 46 minutes ago
- 4 min read
This story was first published by Atlanta Civic Circle and part of The 89 Percent Project, an initiative of the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now.
The elections for two seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) are the only statewide races Georgia voters will decide this year. Literally — they’ll be at the top of the ballot, above your mayoral and city council candidates for the General Election on Nov. 4th.
This is the first time since 2020 that voters will have a chance to vote for a Public Service Commissioner. The primary elections for PSC Districts 2 and 3 are set for June 17 — but what is the PSC? Why does it matter?
While a commissioner must live in the geographic district they represent, all five are elected by voters statewide.
The PSC is made up of five commissioners — currently, all Republican — who each serve a five-year term. While a commissioner must live in the geographic district they represent, all five are elected by voters statewide.
The often-overlooked agency is the state’s top utilities regulator, so these five commissioners set the rates for your electricity, gas, and, in some cases, internet providers. In other words, your utility bills. They also decide how to charge mega-power consumers, such as data centers.
What’s more, the PSC is responsible for long-term energy infrastructure planning in Georgia — so these five commissioners, in large part, determine how the state tackles the threats posed by climate change.
Their decisions also affect whether Georgia’s power grid is prepared for extreme weather events and whether the state moves toward cleaner energy sources — or remains reliant on fossil fuels.
The bottom line is that the PSC commissioners’ decisions affect every household in Georgia. Whether you’re concerned about high energy bills, utility shutoffs, clean energy, or climate resilience, the PSC plays a key role.
How does the PSC regulate utilities?
With the exception of parts of north Georgia that get their power from the Tennessee Valley Authority, virtually all of the state’s electricity comes directly or indirectly from Georgia Power, because it owns the statewide electric power grid. That is most likely who you pay your power bills to in the metro Atlanta area.
These five commissioners, in large part, determine how the state tackles the threats posed by climate change. Their decisions also affect whether Georgia’s power grid is prepared for extreme weather events and whether the state moves toward cleaner energy sources — or remains reliant on fossil fuels.
Even though Georgia Power and the state’s other electric utilities are private companies, the PSC has regulatory and oversight powers over them, because they have a virtual monopoly over the services they provide.
The Georgia Constitution guarantees that private utility companies can turn a reasonable profit, but that margin is a subject of debate. Three years ago, the PSC raised the profit margin for Georgia Power to 11.99%, well above the national average of 10.13%. Last year Georgia Power’s profit increased 22% to $2.5 billion, making it the most profitable subsidiary for its parent, Southern Company. Thanks to higher utility revenue, Southern Company increased its own profit by $400 million to $4.4 billion.
For Georgia Power or any other of the state’s electric, natural gas, or telecom utility providers to increase their rates to customers, the PSC has to approve it. And if Georgia Power wants to build more power plants — like the two additional nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle — and pass on those costs to consumers, they’ve got to take it to the PSC.
In fact, in 2023, PSC commissioners allowed Georgia Power to hike rates to customers to cover $7.6 billion, or fully 74%, of the massive $10.2 billion cost overrun for the two long-delayed, trouble-plagued Vogtle reactors. That increased the average customer’s electric bill by about 5%.
Since 2020, the average Georgia Power household is paying about $43 more per month for electricity, on average, due to PSC-approved rate hikes.
Keep in mind that the PSC also regulates internet providers. This is particularly important for rural Georgians, who are most affected by PSC decisions about where to expand internet access.
Here’s a breakdown of the PSC commissioners’ key responsibilities:
Approving rate hikes by Georgia Power and the state’s other electric, natural gas, and telecom utilities.
The ability to regulate rates and usage for high-energy consumption industries, such as data centers.
Long- term infrastructure and energy planning via a 20-year Integrated Resource Plan.
The ability to create and regulate Georgia’s sustainable energy policies.
Long-term policy planning to tackle climate change.
Who’s on the June 17 primary ballot?
For PSC District 2 (East and Southeast Georgia), Republican incumbent Tim Echols is facing a primary challenge from Lee Muns. In the Democratic primary, Alicia Johnson is running unopposed.
For District 3 (DeKalb, Clayton and Fulton Counties) four Democrats will face off in their primary: Daniel Blackman, Keisha Sean Waites, Peter Hubbard, and Robert Jones. If needed, a primary runoff will be held July 15. The winner will face Republican incumbent Fitz Johnson on Nov. 4th.
Why were these elections delayed?
The District 2 and District 3 races were originally scheduled for 2022, but they’ve been held up by a federal voting discrimination lawsuit, Rose v. Raffensperger. Meanwhile, the PSC’s District 5 seat, held by Republican Tricia Pridemore, was due for an election in 2024, but that also didn’t happen because of the legal battle. In the meantime, all three commissioners have continued to serve and vote on the PSC.
In Rose v. Raffensperger, the plaintiffs argued that requiring statewide elections for PSC seats diluted Black voting power, violating the Voting Rights Act. In August 2022, a federal judge agreed and postponed the District 2 and 3 elections scheduled for that November. But in November 2023, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that ruling, allowing the election to proceed. Finally, last June the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case, which made the 11th Circuit’s ruling the final word.
Now, elections are resuming, beginning with Districts 2 and 3. In February, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger scheduled a special election on Nov. 4th for those seats, with the primary on June 17.
