PSC election is Georgia’s other hot runoff Tuesday

Two Novembers ago, when Republican challenger Chuck Eaton came in second to Democratic incumbent Public Service Commissioner David Burgess, Eaton was the one smiling.

Eaton had enough votes to force a runoff and knew that would work in his favor. Disciplined GOP voters would turn out, even with no other race on the ballot, he said then.

They did, as now-Commissioner Chuck Eaton reminded fellow Republican Lauren McDonald early this month. Despite a huge campaign money advantage fueled by utility-tied donors, McDonald got fewer votes than Democrat Jim Powell, but enough to force a runoff.

This time, voters also have a hot Senate runoff to lure them to the polls Tuesday. It’s unclear how that will play for the downticket competition for one of the most important offices in the state.

The state PSC regulates Georgia Power, Atlanta Gas Light and smaller gas utilities. It also regulates moving and transportation companies and has limited oversight over the state’s deregulated gas and phone markets.

Among the decisions on the docket during the next commissioner’s six-year term: Whether Georgia Power can build new nuclear reactors and whether Atlanta Gas Light’s rates go up.

Commissioners run statewide, but must live in one of five geographic districts. McDonald and Powell are competing for the District 4 seat now held by Angela Speir. It covers the northern portion of the state, including Cherokee and Forsyth counties and much of Gwinnett County.

Republican McDonald, 69, of Clarkesville was a longtime Democratic legislator who then spent four years on the commission before losing his seat to Speir six years ago, when Democrats lost all over the state.

He is running on his experience as a public official and businessman.

Democrat Powell, 59, of Hiawassee, is a retired executive from the U.S. Department of Energy.

He says he’ll be a consumer advocate and an independent voice on the PSC.

Both candidates support nuclear expansion in Georgia in principle, although McDonald endorses it more.

“I just think that we’ve got to have all sources of fuel,” McDonald said in a recent Atlanta Press Club/Georgia Public Broadcasting debate.

“I don’t see how you cannot come out full force for the cleanest and safest sources of power out there, nuclear power,” he said.

Powell is open to nuclear expansion, but not to requiring ratepayers to pay for new reactors in advance. Still, “we can’t afford to take any option off the table,” he said.

Both candidates also support renewable energy and energy efficiency programs for Georgia.

Here, Powell, who specialized in both at the DOE, is the most emphatic.

“I think it’s time to move Georgia out of the dark ages and into the 21st century,” he said at the Press Club debate.

“We need to have a long-term plan, take a hard look at how we generate electricity 20 to 30 years out.”

He said green and renewable power and efficiency programs should be much stronger than they are, and that expanding them will bring jobs.

McDonald said he supports clean coal technology, and adding biomass-burning plants to the state’s mix, as a way to increase renewable energy here.

“We can all be conservative in the way we use energy services,” he added.

“I would like to see Georgia Power have a little better green power program than they presently have,” he said. “But I don’t want mandates. I’m against mandates because they’re expensive.”

McDonald had a more than 2-to-1 campaign money advantage going into Nov. 4, raising $146,250 compared to Powell’s $61,591.

Powell’s money came from diverse sources that included unions, other Democratic politicians and big-name Democrats.

McDonald’s donors included big industry and many utility lobbyists, lawyers and consultants.

Powell criticizes McDonald for accepting money from people with interests before the PSC and says he won’t accept that money. McDonald says the donations are legal, properly reported and, given his public service background, unsurprising.

Voters aren’t likely to know who got money from whom in the sprint to Dec. 2’s runoff: State rules allow the candidates to wait until just before midnight Dec. 1 to file.

But both continued to raise and spend money.

Gov. Sonny Perdue, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and House Speaker Glenn Richardson were part of a Nov. 19 McDonald fund-raiser hosted by an array of utility lawyers and lobbyists.

And Powell had a fund-raiser at Manuel’s Tavern, the Atlanta Democratic bar, this week.