Georgia’s Energy Future

Written by: Patty Durand.

The Georgia Public Service Commission (Ga PSC) has been in Republican control for over 20 years, and they have been a disaster. The little-known GaPSC is the state agency that regulates electricity and gas, among other things. Commissioners are elected every six years by statewide vote, but elections are on hold because a federal judge ruled that Georgia’s method of electing commissioners via statewide voting disenfranchised Black voters. In 140 years only one Black person has ever been elected to the commission. Republican leaders are appealing that decision, claiming that the statewide vote has nothing to do with that outcome.

In the meantime, the all-Republican commission has been delivering incredible profits to Georgia Power, while Georgians pay the 7^th highest electric bills in the nation. And It’s about to get worse:

• On July 31^st, Plant Vogtle’s Unit 3 went into commercial operation. At $35 billion Plant Vogtle is the most expensive power plant ever built on earth. It is $18 billion over budget and 7 years late while delivering over $4 billion in profits to Ga Power during construction alone.
• In 2022 Georgia Power disconnected over 240,000 families for inability to pay. 68% of disconnections are people of color. Those numbers will get worse if all of Plant Vogtle’s cost overruns are added to rates. Public hearings for approval of cost overruns will be held this fall.

Georgia has no climate mitigation plan or renewable energy goals, and systemic abuses against low- and moderate-income customers are common. These are the reasons Shelia Edwards and I decided to run for seats on the commission. To learn more about energy and follow the status of the PSC election, please visit my website PattyforPSC.com and sign up for my newsletter. Updates are sent out every two to three weeks, and emails are never shared.

Patty Durand is a candidate for the Georgia Public Service Commission

Patty Durand

678-467-0148

www.PattyforPSC.com

Twitter: @PattyforGaPSCFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/patty.durand.5