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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Votes trickle in for low-turnout Georgia Public Service Commission primaries
Early voting is underway for a pair of Public Service Commission seats. (Photo by) Cobb County voter Barry Paulk stopped by the West Cobb Regional Library Tuesday afternoon to pick up a copy of 'Election,' the 1998 novel by Tom Perrotta. When he walked through the front doors, a poll manager reminded him that there's a Public Service Commission election going on right now and asked if he wanted to vote. Familiar with the commission's regulatory duties and a recent court case challenging the method used to elect commissioners, he decided why not? 'I figured, well, I'm pretty happy with how things are now, so might as well vote for the incumbents,' Paulk said. Paulk is one of a handful of early voters who have already cast their votes in the primary elections underway for a pair of Public Service Commission seats. For the first time since 2020, voters are electing representatives for both District 2 in the eastern part of the state and District 3 in metro Atlanta. All registered voters in Georgia are eligible to vote for each commissioner, no matter where they live. Incumbent Commissioner Tim Echols is running for reelection in District 2. He is challenged by Lee Muns on the Republican ballot. On the Democratic ballot, Alicia M. Johnson is running in an uncontested race. In District 3, incumbent Commissioner Fitz Johnson is running for reelection as the only candidate on the Republican ballot. There are currently four Democratic candidates hoping to win the party nomination. Candidates include Peter Hubbard, Robert Jones and Keisha Sean Waites. Daniel Blackman is the fourth candidate who is currently fighting to appeal a residency based disqualification Early voting is available through June 13. Voter registration, polling places and sample ballots can all be checked online at the Georgia Secretary of State's My Voter Page. Traditionally, the commission has a staggered election schedule and each commissioner serves a six-year term. This year's election was delayed after a lawsuit challenged the statewide nature of the election, arguing the process diluted the voting strength of Black voters. Despite the ability to vote across the state, voter turnout remains relatively low. After over a week of open polls, voter turnout sits at 0.4%. According to the Secretary of State's data hub, this accounts for about 29,000 voters. Fred Bentley was more of an intentional voter who made time to cast his ballot. Bentley said he was Cobb County's first in-house attorney to represent the condemning authorities that were influential in shaping Georgia's eminent domain laws and even helped write Kennesaw's famous mandatory gun ownership law and he said those experiences have made him a firm believer in the power and privilege of voting. 'I believe that it's an important part of our democracy and our republic that I come out and vote,' Bentley said. He showed up to the polls wearing a blue suit and a red tie to proudly cast his vote. Even with the personal satisfaction of voting, Bentley said he walked away from the polls with a sense of sadness. 'Not a lot of people have voted,' Bentley said. 'And that's a disappointment.' David Chastain, a member of the Cobb County School Board, was headed out of town with his luggage packed when he stopped by the polls to cast his vote Wednesday afternoon. As a close follower of the regulatory panel, Chastain said the commission does a lot of work the average voter may not understand. He is happy with how the current commissioners have operated. 'I do believe that people should participate in the political process,' Chastain said. 'I understand the people who say they don't want to vote, Okay, that's fine, but the rest of us are going to voice our opinions at the ballot box.' Voters have been vocal about various issues surrounding this year's election. Some are singing the praises of incumbents, while others question if the all-GOP panel has done enough to combat rising utility rates and be a check on the state's largest electric utility, Georgia Power. Confusion has also lingered for some voters amid Democratic candidate Daniel Blackman's potential disqualification. Blackman's name is set to remain on the ballot while a Fulton County judge considers Blackman's appeal of a successful challenge to his residency within District 3. A hearing is set for June 10, and the shadow hanging over his candidacy has forced some to rethink their election choices. Alida and Garland Miller, an older couple who say they always vote in the PSC primaries, came to the polls with concerns this year. Familiar with the recent lawsuit, the couple is unsatisfied with the statewide electoral process. 'I feel like we might have the opportunity for a more responsive representative than we currently have,' Alida Miller said. 'I feel like the ones that we have right now don't really care. If they knew they could be voted out by the people in the area that they represent, they might pay a little bit more attention to the wishes of the actual electorate, and not just to big business and the power companies.' When asked if they agreed with the lawsuit arguing that the statewide election dilutes the voices of Black voters, they immediately answered 'yes' in unison. Georgians still hoping to participate in early voting have the opportunity to do so through Friday, June 13, and the official election day will follow on June 17. If no one receives at least 50% of the vote this month, a runoff election will be held on July 15. Primary winners will advance to the general election on Nov. 4. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Georgia Secretary of State to rule on Public Service Commission candidate qualification
Daniel Blackman served as Region IV Southeast Administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Biden administration. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder The Georgia Secretary of State's office will decide on Wednesday whether Public Service Commission candidate Daniel Blackman can remain on the ballot for the Democratic primary on June 17. On Tuesday, the first day of early voting in two statewide PSC races, Administrative Court Judge Dominic Capraro ruled in an initial decision that Blackman does not meet the residency requirements to be a candidate for a metro Atlanta Public Service Commission seat. The District 3 Democratic primary also includes Keisha Waites, a former member of the Atlanta City Council and the Georgia House of Representatives, as well as Peter Hubbard, founder of Center for Energy Solutions and an expert witness at PSC hearings, and Robert Jones, who has had a career involved in energy regulation in California. The primary winner will face sitting GOP Commissioner Fitz Johnson in the Nov. 4 general election. The five-member state regulatory board has faced criticism for a series of Georgia Power rate hikes over the last several years. Early voting for two PSC commission primaries will run until June 13. The residency dispute involves a one-bedroom dwelling in Atlanta that Blackman leased on Oct. 4, 2024. Blackman testified that he purchased the property to live closer to work while his wife and children continued to reside in their Forsyth County home, according to the 12-page ruling. 2540751_1465937 Capraro wrote that Blackman failed to provide evidence that he actually lived in the home, such as property tax records, utility bills or mail being delivered to the Atlanta address. 'The testimony presented by (Blackman) did not establish that he actually resided in Fulton County during the relevant period,' Capraro wrote. 'Other than (Blackman) himself, no witness had personal knowledge of (Blackman's) supposed residence at (the property) or anywhere in Fulton County, in the 12 months preceding the upcoming election.' Under Georgia law, the Secretary of State and any Georgian who is eligible to vote for a candidate can challenge the qualifications of the candidate by filing a written complaint with the Secretary of State within two weeks after the deadline for qualifying. Public Service commissioners must reside within their PSC district boundaries for at least 12 months prior to the general election. PSC District 3 comprises Clayton, DeKalb, and Fulton counties. Although the commissioners must reside in the geographical district that they represent, every Georgia voter can determine the winner since the state regulators are elected statewide. This year was the second time that Blackman made a bid for a commission seat after he lost a 2021 runoff against Republican incumbent Lauren 'Bubba' McDonald. Blackman, who would later after become a regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency under President Joe Biden, said Tuesday that he would appeal the Secretary of State ruling if it upholds the disqualification. Blackman said he did not want to put the 'cart before the horse' ahead of Wednesday's ruling and that he doesn't plan to scale back on campaigning. The state administrative court held a hearing on the case following a complaint filed by Atlanta resident Rodney Stephens, which challenged the legality of Blackman's qualification. Waites, Jones and Hubbard declined Tuesday to comment on Blackman's residency challenge. This year's primary and general elections will mark the first time since 2020 that PSC contests have appeared on Georgia ballots following lawsuits challenging redistricting and the fairness of the PSC election process for Black voters. Republican incumbents Tim Echols and Johnson are facing challengers seeking to upset their bids to remain on the board. Johnson was appointed to the seat in 2021. Echols, who is seeking his third term on the PSC, will face challenger Lee Muns in the Republican primary for the commission's District 2 seat. Whoever wins will go on to face Alicia Johnson of Savannah, the sole candidate for the Democratic Party. Georgia Recorder reporter Ross Williams contributed to this report. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Associated Press
19-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Georgia Power agrees to hold rates steady, but that doesn't include hurricane recovery costs
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Power Co. announced on Monday that it has agreed to a plan with regulatory staff to hold base power rates steady through the end of 2028, although customer bills could still rise in 2026 or later because of the costs of rebuilding from Hurricane Helene and buying natural gas and coal. The five elected members of the Public Service Commission are scheduled to vote on the plan by July 1, according to a stock market filing. The commissioners, all Republicans, could reject or alter the plan, but negotiated agreements with staff historically have been very influential with commissioners. John Kraft, a spokesperson for Georgia Power, said holding rates steady is a benefit 'of the extraordinary economic growth taking place in our state.' 'This stipulated agreement helps balance the affordability needs of our customers while ensuring Georgia Power remains equipped to continue its support of our state's incredible growth – which is good for all of our stakeholders,' Kraft said in a statement. An agreement would allow Commissioners Fitz Johnson and Tim Echols to seek reelection this year without the threat of a rate increase hanging over their campaigns. Echols faces Republican challenger Lee Muns in a June 17 primary, with Democrat Alicia Johnson awaiting the GOP nominee in November. Democrats Daniel Blackman, Peter Hubbard, Robert Jones and Keisha Sean Waites are vying in the primary to face Fitz Johnson in the general election. Georgia Power is the state's only privately owned electrical utility, serving 2.3 million customers statewide. Last year, Georgia Power collected $11.3 billion in revenue and contributed $2.5 billion in profit to its parent, Atlanta-based Southern Co. The company predicts rapidly increasing demand from computer data centers. Georgia Power has said regular customers won't pay for power plants and transmission lines needed to electrify data centers, a pledge now backed up by commission rules. The company has said other customers would see 'downward pressure' on rates because of data centers. Jennifer Whitfield, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, predicts customer bills will rise in 2026. That's because Monday's agreement calls for Georgia Power to file a separate plan next year to charge for $800 million in reconstruction costs after Helene. Whitfield also said Georgia Power might seek to charge more to pay for natural gas and coal to generate electricity. 'For the last year and a half, we've been promised that data centers coming to Georgia were going to put a downward pressure on rates. And we imagined that downward pressure would apply to these increases for things like a billion-plus dollars of storm costs,' Whitfield said. 'But now, the downward pressure has dissolved. There is no downward pressure.' Customers have seen bills rise sharply in recent years because of higher natural gas costs, construction projects including two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta, and other factors. A typical Georgia Power residential customer now pays more than $175 a month, including taxes. Liz Coyle, the executive director of consumer group Georgia Watch, said political reality dictates a freeze. 'I think the reasons more than anything have to do with the company's awareness that their customers and members of the legislature are alarmed about the potential for another rate increase while customers are still reeling,' Coyle said. The deal comes even as commissioners are still considering Georgia Power's three-year plan to generate enough electricity to meet the state's needs. Commissioners approved a mid-cycle rewrite of the current plan because of predictions for increased demand. Typically, a rate plan is approved after that integrated resource plan, ensuring the utility can pay for improvements. But Georgia Power and regulators previously extended a rate plan from 2016 to 2019. One thing the proposal would do is bolster the likelihood that Georgia Power will keep earning high profits. Under Georgia's regulatory system, the company earns a return on the money it invests. Georgia Power earns one of the highest rates of return in the country, set between 9.5% and 11.9%. Under the proposal, the utility could recoup up to $250 million in costs it would otherwise defer if its return falls below 10.5%. That makes it unlikely returns would fall below that level.
Associated Press
31-01-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Georgia Power wants to keep coal plants alive to meet electricity demand
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Power Co. says it wants to keep burning coal to meet what it forecasts as the state's increasing electrical demand. Georgia's only private electrical utility says electrical demand is forecast to grow rapidly in the state, with much of the jump coming from power-hungry data centers. It's just one example of how increasing electrical demand is pressuring electrical infrastructure in the United States and endangering the country's ability to cut emissions of climate-changing carbon dioxide. The unit of Atlanta-based Southern Co. on Friday filed a required plan with regulators on how it would generate and transmit power in the future. Georgia's Public Service Commission, composed of five elected Republicans, will hold hearings and vote on the plan. Then Georgia Power will propose a rate plan for how it will pay for the investments over the next three years, with commissioners likely to vote on rates in December. The company didn't say Friday how much its proposals would cost or how they would filter down to bills. The likely bill impacts could matter a lot, because two commissioners — Tim Echols and Fitz Johnson — are up for reelection in November. Their unusual odd-year election dates resulted from a failed legal challenge to Georgia's system of electing commissioners statewide. A typical Georgia Power residential customer is currently paying an average of $163.57 a month before taxes. Bill increases, driven by factors including a jump in the cost of natural gas and the cost of two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta, have outstripped inflation. In 2019, customers paid $123.31 a month. Georgia Power increased its demand forecast by 2,000 megawatts a year going forward in the integrated resource plan it filed Friday. That's nearly as much electricity as both of the new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta are supposed to generate in a year. Overall it says it needs to generate 8,000 additional megawatts per year in the near future. 'The 2025 IRP provides a comprehensive plan to support Georgia's continued economic growth and serve Georgians with clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy well into the future,' Georgia Power CEO Kim Greene said in a statement. But the reliance on coal, and the carbon dioxide that coal-fueled generation produces, alarmed others. They said Georgia Power is choosing a costly option. 'We're the number one state to do business and one of the U.S.'s fastest growing tech hubs. Are we really going to power progress with gas and coal?' Jennifer Whitfield, an attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center, said in a statement. 'Coal hasn't been economic for years, and paying for even more methane gas is incompatible with the future Georgians want and businesses are demanding.' Instead of closing a coal-fueled unit at Plant Scherer north of Macon in 2028, Georgia Power now wants to keep it running until 2035 or 2038. No closing date had been determined for the massive coal-fueled Plant Bowen, northwest of Atlanta in Euharlee. Georgia Power wants to keep it running until 2035 or 2038 as well. The company also wants to keep Alabama's Plant Gaston, which it co-owns with sister company Alabama Power, running through 2034 instead of closing it in 2028. Gaston runs mostly on natural gas but with some coal. Georgia Power proposed burning natural gas alongside coal at Plant Scherer and Plant Bowen, which would reduce carbon emissions somewhat. It's also proposing changes that would increase output at its Vogtle and Hatch nuclear power plants without building new reactors and increase capacity at its Plant McIntosh natural gas plant near Savannah. The company also said it would ask outsider developers to bid on constructing solar panels and battery storage systems that can generate 1,100 megawatts of power. But that's far less that it would generate by continuing to run coal plants. Georgia Power also wants to create a program where small customers could install solar and battery storage at their homes and get bill credits for letting the utility draw on their electricity when it's needed.
