PSC runoff could affect your Georgia Power bill

Races for seats on the Public Service Commission — the state’s top utility regulator — have historically been an afterthought for most voters, despite the power they wield over many Georgians’ electricity bills.

That changed last year.

After a series of rate changes approved in recent years by the all-Republican commission dramatically raised Georgia Power customers’ bills, Democratic challengers ran campaigns laser-focused on the ballooning monthly payments.

The result? Republican incumbents were trounced in the off-year elections, making national news and delivering Democrats their first two PSC election wins since 2000.

This election, two of the PSC’s five seats are once again up for grabs. And if the primaries were an indicator, Georgians remain engaged in who gets to decide how much they pay in electricity bills going forward.

One of the races is headed to a runoff, and the other was too close to call until the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office officially certified the outcome June 5.

The outcomes of the District 3 (Clayton, DeKalb and Fulton counties) and District 5 (portions of northwest and west-central Georgia, including parts of western metro Atlanta) races will decide if Republicans cling to their narrow, 3-to-2 edge, or if Democrats claim a majority.

In District 5, Republicans Bobby Mehan and Joshua Tolbert will face each other in the June 16 runoff election. Democrat Shelia Edwards, meanwhile, bested two competitors to secure her party’s nomination and will await the Republican nominee in November.

In District 3, Republican and former Georgia utility regulator Fitz Johnson narrowly beat challenger Brandon Martin and will advance to the general against Commissioner Peter Hubbard, a Democrat who defeated Johnson last November.

The commissioners will serve six-year terms, helping decide how much Georgia Power customers pay for electricity for years to come, as well as how the utility generates the electrons themselves.

Candidates in each race must live within their district boundaries, but voters statewide get to cast their ballots for both races, regardless of where they live.

District 5

Republicans in the runoff

Bobby Mehan

Credit: Handout

Credit: Handout

Mehan is a third-generation Georgian who lives in Bremen. He is a mediator and runs an alternative-dispute resolution firm that handles a wide range of civil cases. He credits growing up with a family dedicated to volunteerism and public service as a motivator to run for the PSC.

Mehan said his top priorities are having affordable power bills and a reliable grid, and believes Georgia can have both amid an influx of data centers.

“No new rate increases,” Mehan said during the primary debate in April. “And if I break that, you can fire me.”

He said he wants to find ways to put more electricity on the power grid to serve data centers without driving up residents’ power bills. That can be done by a combination of innovation and bringing companies that don’t traditionally do business before the PSC into the discussion, he added.

Joshua Tolbert

Credit: Jamesa Hemauer

Credit: Jamesa Hemauer

Joshua Tolbert is an engineer who lives in Smyrna. He runs his own engineering consulting firm and has spent his career researching, designing and developing nuclear, fossil fuel and clean energy power plants.

Tolbert said the PSC is a technical job, and it’s time to have an engineer on the panel. His chief concern is whether Georgia Power is overbuilding its power grid to serve data centers. He also wants the PSC to have more accountability when it makes decisions, and they should be able to explain their votes to the public.

“I would like to be the nerd on your team,” Tolbert said during the same primary debate.

Tolbert has been an expert witness and said, if elected, he will ask technical questions of people who are testifying before the PSC.

Debate

Democrat

Shelia Edwards

Credit: candidate website

Credit: candidate website

If elected, Edwards says she also will push Georgia Power to add more clean energy to its system and expand its residential solar program offerings, plus protect communities from data centers.

District 3

Democrat

Peter Hubbard (incumbent)

Credit: Erik Voss

Credit: Erik Voss

Hubbard said he wants to balance a reliable and resilient power grid while keeping rates steady. He added there is a way to invest money into the grid efficiently to prevent bills from skyrocketing.

“That’s not something that’s going to be solved overnight,” he said.

Republican

Fitz Johnson

Credit: Natrice Miller

Credit: Natrice Miller

Not even six months ago, Fitz Johnson, an Army veteran and entrepreneur, was on the PSC — he was appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2021. But a loss to Hubbard brought his four-plus-year stint on the commission to a close.

Now, Johnson wants to reclaim his seat.

The Republican voted for many of the rate increases that have pushed Georgia Power residential customers’ bills up since 2023. In an interview, Johnson said he “feels for” customers paying higher bills, but said he has no regrets from his time on the PSC and is proud of what he accomplished.

He touted the three-year freeze of Georgia Power’s base rates he and his fellow Republican commissioners approved last summer, months before the election, and added that he won’t raise rates again if he returns to the PSC. And although critics disagree, Johnson said he believes the data center contracting rules he voted for will protect residential customers from being saddled with even higher bills.

“We’re getting a better grid, a stronger grid, paid for by ‘large load’ customers — not paid for by small business or residential customers,” Johnson said.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect official Georgia Secretary of State results and the upcoming runoff election.