How two obscure races became a referendum on Georgia Power bills
It’s been five years since Georgia held a general election for its utility regulator.
As the campaigns for two seats near the finish line Tuesday, political observers say one thing is clear: this is a referendum on power bills.
Georgia Power customers have seen their monthly electricity bills rise six times in roughly three years because of decisions made by the all-Republican Public Service Commission. With two of the PSC’s five seats up for grabs on Election Day, the little-known agency is now in the spotlight.
A 2020 lawsuit over the way voters choose these officials has delayed PSC elections for years. This means Georgians have not had a formal way to signal their support or opposition to the PSC’s actions until now. Tuesday’s election comes amid a prolonged federal government shutdown, a stalled job market and persistent inflation. And for voters, especially Georgia Power customers — who have seen the monthly cost to keep their lights on rise an average of $43 since 2023 ― power bills are also top of mind.
“I feel like no matter what I do, my electric bills go up,” said David Rein, an Atlanta resident and Georgia Power customer, who was among the voters trickling into the Grant Park Recreation Center on Friday, the last day of early voting.
Rein said he’s always been conscious of his power bills and has lately seen his monthly costs rise sharply, despite close attention to his thermostat and other appliances. He said his monthly bills in winter are now as high as $600 and $500 in the summer.
Rein said it was those costs that drove him to vote for the Democratic challengers, Peter Hubbard and Alicia Johnson, in both PSC races.
In a statement, a Georgia Power spokesman said the company has “always worked constructively with the elected members of the Georgia Public Service Commission and will continue to do so.”
Focus on turnout
Customers’ wallets are on the line as the PSC readies for more major decisions in the coming years.
Regardless of the election outcome, all current sitting members will have the chance to vote this year on Georgia Power’s request to add 10,000 megawatts — roughly the generating capacity of 10 nuclear reactors — to its power grid in just five years. The utility wants to do so with a mix dominated by gas-fired power plants, placing its weight on polluting and pricey fossil fuels.
Exactly how much that expansion will cost is murky, but in its most recent annual report, the utility projected it would spend at least $34 billion on capital costs through the end of the decade.
The incumbents — Tim Echols and Fitz Johnson, both Republicans — have argued that Georgia’s success recruiting electric vehicle factories, battery plants and other major economic development projects are because of the reliable electric system they’ve cultivated. They’ve also touted a Georgia Power-approved plan they voted for earlier this year that freezes customers’ basic electricity rates for the next three years.
But that agreement, announced shortly before the June primary, comes with asterisks. In February, the utility is slated to pass along to customers the cost of fuel it has used at power plants. It also plans to ask to recoup the costs of repairing storm damage caused by Hurricane Helene.
Wall Street and state and national political parties are watching these races, the outcome of which could impact future elections in Georgia and nationwide. Soaring electricity prices blamed in part on data centers, have made utility bills the focal point of gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, and many political experts say that will continue through next year’s midterms.
To be sure, the political and business atmosphere is different in New Jersey and Virginia than in Georgia, but the trend of upset consumers transcends those boundaries.
Republican operatives have privately expressed fears of losing on Tuesday, and early voting figures show low turnout in GOP-heavy counties crucial for Echols and Johnson to win. Those gaps could be overcome by an Election Day surge, however.
State Republican leaders like Gov. Brian Kemp and U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene have been lending a hand to try to drive GOP voters to the polls.
Kemp appeared alongside Echols and Johnson at a rally in deep red Forsyth County in early October. In an Oct. 28 post on X, Greene urged GOP voters to cast ballots in the PSC races to “stop Democrat’s (sic) Green New Deal Scam California style energy policies in Georgia!!”
Victories in one or both seats won’t give Democrats control of the five-member PSC. But it would give the party their first non-federal statewide win in nearly two decades — and momentum heading into 2026, when Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is on the ballot and other statewide offices are up for grabs.
The Democratic Party of Georgia is airing ads framing the race as a referendum on utility bills, and party officials say hundreds of volunteers are being dispatched for a final push.
For customers like Rein in Grant Park, it was a video from popular YouTuber and author Hank Green that brought the PSC races to his attention with a video he posted in mid-October. Green’s video, titled “I Need 1% Of Georgia To Watch This Video,” breaks down the regulatory relationship between Georgia Power and the PSC.
As of Halloween, it had roughly 850,000 views on YouTube.
A check on Georgia Power
Georgia Power is a regulated monopoly that must provide service to all customers in its territory. In exchange for that, the utility can recoup the cost of how much it spends to build and maintain the power grid and earn what historically has been a hefty profit.
Even just one different regulator on the bench could change future outcomes for Georgia Power and its customers, a Wall Street analyst wrote this week. That person could influence the PSC to sign off on lower rate increases for customers or ones that are spread out over a significantly longer amount of time, lessening the burden on monthly bills.
From Georgia Power’s perspective, it means regulators could lower the company’s profits, prevent it from getting paid back quickly for its expenses and change future contracts with other power providers, wrote Julien Dumoulin-Smith, managing director and senior equity analyst at Jefferies, in a Wednesday research note.
“A one-seat flip could influence tone on cost recovery,” he said.
But existing law and precedence do matter and will “constrain abrupt policy shifts,” he said.
Indeed, even though Democrats Hubbard and Johnson have pledged to lower power bills and put cleaner sources of electricity on the grid, it’s not that easy. Statutes support the current structure that lets Georgia Power recoup the cost of doing business, and if the PSC votes to deny Georgia Power payment for its job of keeping up the power grid, the utility can — and likely will — sue in court. If that doesn’t work, the company could go to the state Legislature where it holds political sway.
Still, many voters say they’d like to see the PSC be more of a check on Georgia Power.
Lauren Hanes, another Georgia Power customer, said she, too, has noticed her ballooning power bills and worries how much higher they could go, as climate change pushes outside temperatures up and increases cooling demands inside her home.
Hanes, who also voted for Johnson and Hubbard, said she thinks the Democrats could help reign in the utility.
“I think Georgia Power is getting a little greedy, if I’m being honest,” Hanes said. “I think they need to simmer down a little bit.”
— Staff writer Greg Bluestein contributed to this report.
About the Authors
Kristi Swartz is an AJC contributing writer covering climate change and related matters. She writes about how climate change impacts people’s lives, from extreme weather hitting parts of the state more frequently, to higher electricity bills, insurance premiums and health care expenses.
Drew Kann is a reporter at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution covering climate change and environmental issues. His passion is for stories that capture how humans are responding to a changing environment. He is a proud graduate of the University of Georgia and Northwestern University, and prior to joining the AJC, he held various roles at CNN.
