Polls are closed in Georgia's Public Service Commission runoff. Results here.
Hubbard defeated fellow Democrat Keisha Waites by about 16 percentage points in Tuesday's primary election runoff, according to results from the Georgia Secretary of State's office. Hubbard will face incumbent Republican Commissioner Fitz Johnson in the November election.
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 was required by Georgia law. Waites received 57,800 votes and Hubbard received 41,832. Robert Jones received 25,898, eliminating him from the runoff.
Georgia Conservation Voters endorsed Hubbard prior to the runoff, calling him an 'ideal candidate.'
'Peter's understanding of how companies rig the game by hiding the devil in the details, like how Georgia Power's modeling tends to be biased toward massive construction projects, where customers end up footing the bill, demonstrates the kind of strategic thinker that could benefit Georgians. GCV encourages everyone who cares about low bills and safe energy to use their vote to influence this critical election,' the endorsement said.
Hubbard has a nonprofit, the Georgia Center for Energy Solutions, which consults on electric utility Integrated Resource Plans and has testified on Georgia Power's Integrated Resource Plans for six years, across four different plans from 2019 to 2025. In 2025, he created his own alternative IRP and brought it to the commission.
'I'm an expert in the subject matter,' he said prior to the runoff. '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.'
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How can Kazakhstan secure its hydrocarbon export infrastructure?
Kazakhstan is one of the largest oil and gas producers in Central Asia, a significant producer of coal and a major energy exporter – but the markets surrounding it are shifting. In terms of oil production, the vast landlocked country is up against established and well connected heavyweights such as Saudi Arabia and the US, while competition in the gas market is more regionalised, with Russia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as frontrunners. Its production remains on a sharp upward trajectory. In February, Kazakhstan reported a record oil output of 2.12 million barrels per day (mbbl/d), and announced plans to produce 96.2 million tonnes (mt) of oil and gas condensate in 2025, a yearly increase of almost 10%. Moreover, its oil production in the first half of 2025 (H1 2025) saw a yearly surge of almost 12%. However, the nation still has some way to go to diversify its export routes and establish reliable and long-term export markets. Demand from various regions of Europe continues to rise against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war, following an international trend of nations seeking to reduce their energy dependence on Russia. In June, the European Commission proposed a gradual phase-out of Russian gas and oil imports into the EU by the end of 2027, as part of the REPowerEU road map, which aims to ensure the EU's full energy independence from Russia. Kazakhstan is aiming to capitalise on this demand by increasing hydrocarbon exports. Currently, approximately 80% of the country's oil exports are transported via the majority Russia-controlled Caspian Pipeline Consortium's (CPC) Black Sea terminal, which was temporarily restricted in April by Russian regulators. Kazakh hydrocarbon infrastructure has also become collateral damage in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. In February, Ukrainian drones hit a pumping station on the main Kazakh oil export pipeline, temporarily dropping oil flows through the CPC by approximately 30–40%. Such vulnerability is exacerbated by Kazakhstan's Soviet-era assets, although the country has been actively building new facilities and reviving previously shelved plans such as the Eskene-Kuryk-Baku oil pipeline, which will extend for 739km from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan. Market expansion, particularly to hydrocarbon-hungry countries such as China and Türkiye, remains a priority for Kazakhstan, helping it secure its economic future. However, this process relies on reliable pipeline routes and stabilised geopolitical climates, the latter currently seeming a long way off. Market opportunities and challenges As the world's biggest hydrocarbon importer, China offers huge opportunities for Kazakhstan. In February, state-run gas pipeline operator Qazaqgaz extended its agreement with PetroChina to increase gas exports to the east. Qazaqgaz has a pipeline network of more than 76,000km, including 20,000km of main gas pipelines, which also transport Russian gas to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan through an agreement signed with Gazprom in 2024. However, extracting itself from Russia's influence and strengthen its ties with China could prove tricky for Kazakhstan. Much of the region's hydrocarbon infrastructure is co-owned and operated by more than one country, with a notable example being the Atasu-Alashankou pipeline, which carries both Kazakh and Russian oil to China. Competition in the region is fierce for market access and infrastructural planning. Kazakhstan is China's third-largest pipeline gas supplier after Russia and Turkmenistan, but in terms of crude oil the country has fallen behind other suppliers, with a 50% drop from 2023 to 2024 (though overall demand from China has weakened in recent years). Elsewhere in Asia, Türkiye holds further promise. 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While Kazakhstan does export hydrocarbons to India (amounting to a value of $175m for crude oil in 2024) as its largest trade partner in Central Asia, no direct infrastructure connection exists. The International North-South Transport Corridor, which would use the Chabahar and Bandar Abbas ports in Iran, presents a possibility for further connection between the countries. The corridor is designed to facilitate the movement of goods between Azerbaijan, Central Asia, Europe, India, Iran and Russia. According to the Social Policy Research Foundation in India, another key barrier to cooperation with Kazakhstan is China's established presence in Central Asia, as it has "a territorial advantage and has arguably solved the issue of decaying regional infrastructure by building multiple pipelines […] for an entrenched competitive advantage". Despite the geopolitical mire, there are viable options for Kazakhstan to secure its hydrocarbon infrastructure, including strengthened regional cooperation and transportation development. New frontiers for Kazakhstan's hydrocarbon exports Given the complications of pipeline expansion, maritime transportation presents another avenue for Kazakhstan to capture a wider market. In recent years, state-run companies such as KazMunayGas have ramped up investments in tankers to increase exports across the Caspian Sea. Notably, the BTC pipeline relies on a fleet of Kazakh tankers to move oil to Azerbaijan. Kazakh Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev has highlighted the potential to increase the BTC's current output of 1.5mt per year to as much as 20mt, thus reducing oil exports via Russia by approximately 80%. Increased cooperation with Azerbaijan is another possible diversification element for Kazakhstan, which would make it something of a regional energy hub. 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