Patty Durand – Energy Consumer Advocate
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As I knew would happen (and you knew too), last week commissioners voted to approve the billion dollar biomass deal that I wrote about last newsletter. This proposal was so outrageous that I felt light headed as I contemplated what they had done. The disrespect for Georgia Power customers and disregard for people who are already struggling to pay high electricity bills was astonishing to me because it was a new low for the PSC. Now we know: Commissioners don’t care about Georgia Power bill payers at all.
Remember these people from May of 2023? I paid a video professional to put together this 3 minute video of short clips of public comments to show everyone what goes on behind PSC hearing room doors.
Since this hearing, where these people said, “Please don’t raise my bills, I can’t afford what I have to pay now,” Commissioners raised their bills by almost $50 a month which is nuts.
Most state commissions understand that high electricity bills can destabilize families, it can push people out of their homes, it can kill because people who are disconnected can die in extreme heat. Even a $5/month increase is a big deal
But here? 10 times that amount isn’t enough to give commissioners pause – in the case of the vote last week for biomass, commissioners dug in with excuses for why supporting the timber industry’s disposal of waste (known as slash) and trucking jobs associated with those individuals who drive away the slash was more important than whether Georgia Power customers can afford their bills.
Why are commissioners showing such disregard for Georgia Power customers?
To Read More, go to: https://mailchi.mp/523671c37fe5/a-new-leader-in-georgia-9442809?e=0faa170c68
