Power bills were front and center Tuesday at the Republican District 5 primary debate for the Georgia Public Service Commission, with candidates directing their fire at customer costs and data centers.
Three Republican candidates are vying for their party’s nomination in District 5, a seat that is based in western Georgia, including parts of metro Atlanta, but which is voted on statewide.
The PSC decides the rates millions of Georgians pay for their electricity, the type of fuel sources that power comes from and how much profit the monopoly utility is allowed to earn. The obscure, wonky agency is arguably the least known and even less understood by most consumers, but it was thrust into the spotlight last November when Democrats flipped two seats on what had been an all-Republican panel.
The campaign last fall largely centered on affordability, and political observers and Wall Street analysts called it a referendum on power bills. Now, the stakes are even higher with two races on the ballot this year.
Candidates Bobby Mehan, Carolyn Roddy and Josh Tolbert each promised during the Atlanta Press Club debate to ensure grid reliability and tackle costly bills, but one delivered a bold promise should he be elected in November.
“No new rate increases,” said Mehan, a business owner who lives in west Georgia. “And if I break that, you can fire me.”
District 5 is now an open seat after current Republican Commissioner Tricia Pridemore declared her candidacy for the 11th Congressional district in the U.S. House.
“I think that Georgia Power has not done a good job of providing affordable rates to Georgia Power ratepayers,” said Roddy, a lawyer who has worked on telecommunications issues at the state and federal levels.
Roddy took aim at the commission’s recent decision to let Georgia Power to invest at least $16 billion in capital costs in an unprecedented expansion of its power grid. The PSC’s public interest advocacy staff and others have estimated the plan’s ultimate price tag could reach $50 billion or more over the life of the power plants.
The planned 10,000-megawatt build out has come under fire because the electricity will be used primarily to serve an influx of data centers. What’s more, most of the electricity will come from gas-fired power plants, which produce pollutants that contribute to climate change.
Roddy pledged to claw back that money going from ratepayers’ pockets to Georgia Power. She wants data centers to be responsible for their own electricity and not have Georgians “pay a dime” for it.
The commission and Georgia Power have said recent rule changes will ensure data center users pay for their infrastructure needs without passing along costs to other customers. But efforts to enshrine such protections into state law failed under the Gold Dome earlier this year.
It is unusual for Republicans running for the PSC to make bold statements about denying rate increases or having the electric company cover the capital costs for its investments. Sitting commissioners typically defend rate increases by saying they are necessary for the utility to have a strong, reliable power grid that provides electricity all day and all night.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
As a regulated monopoly, Georgia Power is allowed to recoup its costs from customers plus profit off its investments. But during Tuesday’s debate, the Republican candidates expressed more skepticism about Georgia Power’s plans and recent PSC decisions.
Georgia Power struck a deal with the PSC last year to freeze base rates through 2028, and the utility has a new plan that, if approved, could lower bills by roughly 1% starting this summer. The moves come after a series of rate increases that tacked on an average $43 a month to customer power bills, drawing the ire of consumers.
The candidates had an opportunity to ask each other questions during the debate. Tolbert, an engineer, questioned Mehan’s promise to not vote for a rate increase even if the power grid’s reliability is at risk.
“Basically what you’re telling me (is that) we’re not going to give them the rate increase,” Tolbert said. “I think we’re risking the reliability in certain areas.”
Tolbert, who has questioned whether Georgia Power will be overbuilding it power system over the next five years, touted his technical expertise as an engineer and said that it’s time to have an engineer on the commission.
“I would like to be the nerd on your team,” he said in an appeal to voters.
While the commissioners must live in their districts, they are elected statewide. Early voting began on Monday, and the state’s primary is on May 19.
A note of disclosure
This coverage is supported by a partnership with Green South Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners. You can learn more and support our climate reporting by donating at AJC.com/donate/climate.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
