Election Day in Georgia: What to know about Public Service Commission runoff
Here's what to know about Tuesday's election.
The Georgia Public Service Commission is a five-member panel of energy regulators which reviews proposals from electric companies such as Georgia Power. All five members are elected, and while they each represent certain districts, all Georgians get to vote on each race.
The proposals that the PSC votes on outline how much the company plans to charge customers for electricity and where the company will get its energy — whether from solar, natural gas, coal, batteries, hydropower, or other sources.
The runoff election is between between former state lawmaker Keisha Waites, and energy consultant and expert Peter Hubbard.
Waites and Hubbard were the top two vote-getters in the primary last month, but didn't secure more than 50% of the vote, so a runoff is required by Georgia law. Waites received 57,800 votes, Hubbard received 41,832.
Hubbard has a nonprofit, the Georgia Center for Energy Solutions, which consults on electric utility Integrated Resource Plans. He has testified on Georgia Power's Integrated Resource Plans for six years, across four different plans from 2019 to 2025.
'I'm an expert in the subject matter,' he said. 'You need an energy expert to be able to understand all the ways that that costs are being shifted onto residential rate payers and customers like me and you, and that's what I bring is that 15 years of experience in the energy industry putting together power plants of what to build and retire, understanding the different mechanisms and ways that in a rate case you can shift costs.'
Waites is a seasoned public servant, which she argues is what makes her the better candidate. She also has established relationships with sitting commissioners.
'I have nearly two decades of public service,' she said. 'I spent 15 years serving with the federal government: 10 in the Department of Homeland Security, and another five years working for the SBA, writing disaster assistance loans for businesses and corporations.'
Who's in the Georgia PSC primary runoff? 'Energy future is on the ballot'
Georgia residents can find their polling place online by visiting mvp.sos.ga.gov. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day.
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