In Public Service Commission race, candidates converge on 'affordability'

Caption

Steam rises from the tops of two power plant cooling towers in the background as the sun peeks out from behind a third in the foreground at Georgia Power's Plant Vogtle in 2024.

Credit: Grant Blankenship/GPB News

During debates this week, both Republicans and Democrats running for the open seat on Georgia’s powerful Public Service Commission broadly agreed the commission should take a heavier hand in controlling what the state’s largest electrical utility, Georgia Power, should be allowed to charge its customers. 

Republican Bobby Meehan staked out the most extreme position against the utility. 

“I'm telling you, for the next six years, once elected, I will not vote personally for a rate change,” Meehan said.   

Meehan was alone in stating his intention so baldly. But in separate debates, Republican Carolyn Roddy and Democrat Angela Pressley found common ground in criticizing the PSC’s recent decision to allow Georgia Power to build billions’ worth of new generation capacity to power data centers. 

“They need to consider clawing back that $16 billion that they've authorized for those plants that will serve large users, particularly data centers,” Meehan said. “I personally don't want to live in a state that has brownouts. But then on the other hand, you know, [Georgia Power] do not get everything that they want.” 

Pressley pointed toward energy instability around the world — due to war and even climate disasters — as reason why she would push to undo the PSC decision greenlighting Georgia Power’s plan to power data centers, mostly through new fossil gas turbines. 

“We're so dependent on oil and gas.” Pressley said. “And if that $16 billion is pushed through, we will be cooked. And so what I plan to do is crawl back that decision so that we're more responsible to the ratepayers and ourselves.” 

Pressley also said she would press Georgia Power to alter its power generation mix to become over half renewables. 

Fellow Democrat Shelia Edwards objected to the idea that Georgia Power investments in infrastructure could be recouped through rate increases on household customers. 

“I believe that data centers should bring their own resources to bear,” she said. “I don't believe in corporate welfare. We're taking mothers and children off of welfare, but we're steady giving these corporations corporate welfare, and that needs to stop.” 

In the Republicans' separate debate, Roddy struck a similar note. 

“I think that Plant Vogtle should have been put on, not on ratepayers, but that $7 billion should have been put on their shareholders,” Roddy said, speaking on the nuclear plant finally completed in 2024.  “Georgia Power, as you know, is a subsidiary of Southern Company. They have had 24 consecutive years of paying dividends out on a quarterly basis. That's ridiculous. They need to review.” 

Republican Josh Tolbert touted his training as an engineer as the reason he would be a good choice for the PSC. Roddy countered that’s what the paid professional PSC staff are for, in their advisory roles. 

After two recent historic elections of Democrats to the PSC, the winner of the District 5 race could tip the board into a majority-Democratic body. Democrat Craig Cupid said that was why he was running. 

“Right now, we have two commissioners who are ratepayer-focused, but two commissioners can't make a decision,” Cupid said. “Three commissioners can.”