They will help decide how much you pay Georgia Power, Atlanta Gas Light and your telephone company, if you still have a landline.
And they are the only candidates up for statewide election next week.
Two of the five Georgia Public Service Commission members are running to keep their seats. Chuck Eaton, a Republican who lives in Atlanta, is seeking a second term. Republican Stan Wise, who lives in Marietta, hopes to return to the PSC for his fourth.
Eaton faces Steve Oppenheimer, a Democrat, and Libertarian candidate Brad Ploeger of Atlanta. Ploeger, 30, co-owns a small business. Wise has no democratic opponent. His challenger is Libertarian David Staples.
Commissioners make $116,452.32 a year.
The stakes are high: next year the PSC will review Georgia Power’s long-term plan for how it will provide power to its 2.5 million customers and set the utility’s rates. The agency also will consider expanding a pipeline replacement program for Atlanta Gas Light, which distributes natural gas to marketers.
The PSC also reviews the cost and schedule for Georgia Power’s $6.1 billion portion of the massive project to build twin nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta. The $14 billion project is the nation’s first new, from-scratch reactor project in 30 years.
Broadly, the challengers are pushing for more renewable energy, particularly solar, in Georgia. They also think the regulators could do a better job of looking out for consumers.
“I really believe this is about our wealth, our health and our environment,” said Oppenheimer, 57, a retired dentist who is a member of several clean-energy groups and actively volunteers and raises money for the schools his three children had attended. “This is the consumer issue of the election.”
Oppenheimer is calling for a review of the state’s natural gas rates and wants to loosen restrictions on putting solar panels on homes and businesses. He wants Georgia Power to figure out how to reduce demand on its grid by adding more renewable fuels and operating more efficiently.
Instead of giving Georgia Power a set profit margin, Staples wants to tie the company’s profits to how much the utility invests in renewables. The more solar, wind and biomass that the utility adds to the grid, the more return on investment it can earn, he said in describing his position.
“Let’s make it an incentive to manage the operation efficiently,” said Staples, 31, who lives in Powder Springs. Staples is a web technology architect for Sandvik, a large equipment manufacturer.
Incumbents Eaton and Wise argue that Georgia should get its electricity from a diverse group of sources, including nuclear, coal, natural gas and renewables, saying that’s the best way to keep the lights on and consumer rates low. Eaton, a former realtor, touts his behind-the-scenes effort that led to Georgia Power’s plan to buy 210 megawatts of solar power over the next few years. He said the price to make and install solar panels had come down to make the renewable fuel competitive with traditional sources of electricity.
“You have to acknowledge that by waiting, there’s been a price decrease,” said Eaton, 43. “We could have done [solar] five years ago, but there’s a price that comes with that.”
Wise, 60, who has owned an insurance business for 20 years, said mandating that utilities get a certain amount of their electricity from renewable fuels would only lead to a rate hike. Wise frequently speaks about adding nuclear power in Georgia and warns against shutting down coal-fired plants to comply with federal environmental requirements.
“If we can recognize that there’s a way to clean up some of the plant, then we’ll do that as well,” he said.
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