Georgians deserve reliable power. Don’t seek to emulate Texas or California.
A recent column in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution titled “Georgia can learn from Texas on energy” suggested our state should follow the Texas model.
I offer a different view — one informed by almost four decades in the electric-power industry, including engineering and system-operations roles that provided firsthand insight into what keeps the lights on and how to quickly get them back on when interruptions threaten the lifeblood of our economy.
Georgia’s integrated, regulated model has produced one of the most reliable and affordable electric systems in the nation.
Our state’s integrated grid is distinctly different from the Texas model and provides great price and reliability benefits.
Power rates in Georgia have been roughly 15% below the national average since 1990, and our reliability consistently ranks among the best anywhere, according to Georgia Power.
Even Massachusetts — one of the states that pursued deregulation like Texas — began to question aspects of that approach, according to a State Energy & Environmental Impact Center report in 2023.
Its attorney general’s comprehensive review found that deregulation led to reduced investment in infrastructure, declining reliability, higher rates that disproportionately affected low-income consumers, and suggested a reevaluation of certain elements of the traditional model still used successfully in other states.
Winter storm in Texas showed lack of accountability and planning
That record, guided by steady oversight from the Georgia Public Service Commission and strengthened through coordination and joint ownership with the state’s Electric Membership Cooperatives, city owned systems and the city of Dalton has helped make Georgia a national leader in economic growth and industrial recruitment.
Texas, by contrast, learned the hard way that electricity is not like other commodities. It is the operating heartbeat of our economy, powering hospitals, manufacturing, schools and homes alike.
When electricity fails, commerce and safety fail with it. That makes unreliability unacceptable in the extreme.
During the February 2021 Winter Storm Uri, roughly 4.5 million Texas customers lost power for days, and independent analysis attributes at least 210 deaths to the storm.
Economic damages ranged from $80 billion to $130 billion.
That was not market innovation, it was market failure born of the absence of accountability and resource planning.
California offers another case study with the same lesson.
Georgia’s system requires coordination, resource diversity and long-term investment in reliability.
With the existing generation resources we have in place and continued growth in renewables, we are proving that affordability, innovation and reliability can coexist in Georgia.
Truitt Eavenson of Savannah is a retired vice president of Georgia Power Co. who held several leadership roles in engineering, system operations and energy restoration after major storms.
