27-05-2025
How an Election Starting Today Impacts Your Power Bills
As summer returns and customers crank up their air conditioners to cope with the punishing heat, a little-known elected body that regulates energy prices in the state of Georgia is gearing up for a pivotal election.
The body, known as the Georgia Public Service Commission, or PSC, has the power to determine what Atlanta power bills are in the coming years and is deliberating putting a freeze on rate hikes for three-years.
In recent years, inflation-weary electricity rate payers in Georgia have struggled to pay rising monthly energy bills that, in extreme cases, match or exceed what some pay for their monthly rent or mortgage.
There is disagreement about whether electricity rate increases are warranted, with critics saying they are unfair and too onerous, and supporters saying they are necessary to bolster the state's booming economy.
Read More: Why Electricity Rates in Georgia Rose $516 Per Year on Average
Even so, the election is a big deal for Black voters because it is the PSC's first election since a federal judge ruled, in 2022, that its election system dilutes Black power. An appeals court overturned that decision, but this election will still impact how much many Black folks pay for electricity.
Here's what you need to know about energy prices, the commission and the special election.
Georgians have some of the highest utility bills in the nation, and the bills of Black Georgians, who are less likely to live in energy efficient homes, are often higher than most, according to Brionté McCorkle, executive director of Georgia Conservation Voters, an environmental justice group that educates and mobilizes voters on sustainability issues that affect their everyday lives.
'We also spend more of our income on power bills than other races,' McCorkle said. '[The PSC] will decide how much people will pay for power and whether that energy comes from safe, affordable, and clean energy sources.'
PSC commissioners have faced criticism for approving six Georgia Power rate hikes over the past two years. As a result, the average Georgia Power residential customer is paying $43 more per month, or $516 more per year, on their electric bill than they were two years ago.
But this month, Georgia Power — the state's largest electricity provider — agreed to forgo raising its base electricity rates for the next three years, with limited exceptions. The PSC is expected to vote on the rate hike freeze on July 1.
Georgia Power said its agreement not to raise rates for three years 'reflects broad consensus' and 'is the result of hard work and collaboration.'
'Even critics must agree this is great news for our customers,' company spokesman John Kraft said in an emailed statement. 'This stipulated agreement is simply the latest example of how our regulated market structure benefits Georgia families and businesses.'
Next year, Georgia Power is expected to request that the PSC let it begin recouping major storm-related losses from customers over the next few years. The company agreed to make its request between Feb. 1 and July 1 of next year.
Activists have been pressing for Black voters to have a greater say in the election of commissioners, given the importance of the PSC to the bottom line of Black households.
In 2020, McCorkle, Black Voters Matter activist Wanda Mosley, and former Atlanta NAACP President Richard Rose filed a lawsuit in a federal district court alleging that Georgia's at-large PSC election system unfairly diluted the power of Black voters, in violation of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Under the at-large system, each PSC commissioner represented one district, but the district did not elect its own commissioner. Each commissioner was elected in a statewide race.
The court determined that the power of Black voters — who are overrepresented in some PSC districts like District 3, which includes metro Atlanta — was diluted by white voters, who are the majority of the population in Georgia.
The August 2022 ruling led to the establishment of a special election in 2025. A federal appellate court overturned the lower court's decision in November 2023. The appellate court judges argued state lawmakers weren't motivated by race when they determined PSC elections should be statewide office races.
'Georgia chose this electoral format to protect critical policy interests and there is no evidence, or allegation, that race was a motivating factor in this decision,' the judges wrote in their ruling.
A total of eight candidates are competing in two separate PSC district races this year.
Each race will start with two primaries — one for Democrats and one for Republicans. Early voting in all four primaries starts today and ends on June 13. In-person voting takes place on June 17. Any runoffs would take place on July 15. The general election is Nov. 4.
The two commissioners who are vying for reelection are District 2 incumbent Timothy Echols, who represents most of eastern Georgia, and District 3 incumbent Fitz Johnson, whose region includes most of metro Atlanta. Both are Republicans, as are the three other current commissioners.
Capital B has interviewed all eight PSC candidates and will share their responses in future stories.
In the Republican primary, Johnson is running unopposed.
In the Democratic primary, there are four contenders — former EPA Regional Administrator Daniel Blackman, clean energy nonprofit leader Peter Hubbard, technologies consultant Robert L. Jones, and former Atlanta City Council member Keisha Sean Waites — are competing to challenge Johnson in November.
In the Republican primary, Echols is facing off against Harlem, Georgia, mechanical contractor Lee Muns.
Alicia M. Johnson, a Savannah-based health care administrator, is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.
The post How an Election Starting Today Impacts Your Power Bills appeared first on Capital B News - Atlanta.
