Early voting begins Tuesday for two seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission, and Republican incumbents Tim Echols and Fitz Johnson are both on the ballot — Echols for the first time in years, and Johnson for the first time ever.
Legal battles over how the state elects PSC members has delayed regular elections to the powerful-but-obscure board, but that hasn’t stopped members from raising money for their campaigns — often from businesses with a stake in their decisions.
The incumbents have accepted contributions from executives of companies that benefited from some of the board’s most controversial decisions, from allowing a railroad to acquire properties over the objection of the owners to requiring Georgia Power to buy expensive electricity produced at wood-burning plants.
Those contributions have helped the incumbent Republican commissioners build a commanding fundraising lead over their Democratic opponents in next month’s election.
Critics say industry contributions suggest elected officials are beholden to the businesses they regulate.
“It’s disappointing to see they have accepted those contributions,” said Rosario Palacios, executive director of the government watchdog group Common Cause Georgia. “We need more separation for sure.”
Echols has raised about $980,000 in campaign cash since his last election in 2016, an Atlanta-Journal Constitution examination of campaign records shows. Johnson has raised about $473,000 since Gov. Brian Kemp appointed him to the commission four years ago. Most of their contributions have come since the state canceled the 2022 election for both incumbents.
The commission has the power to set rates for investor-owned electric and gas utilities and telecommunication companies operating in Georgia. It oversees pipeline safety and railroad condemnation proceedings, and is supposed to balance consumer interests with regulated businesses’ need to earn a reasonable return on investments.
In a statement, Echols said he doesn’t make decisions based on those donations but said donors “do support me based on how their membership or industry might benefit from having me in office.”
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Johnson said in a statement that Georgians from all backgrounds contribute to his campaign, saying they “don’t want to California our Georgia when it comes to energy policy.”
Voters’ verdict delayed
The PSC’s decisions are often controversial. Commissioners have approved six Georgia Power rate increases since the canceled 2022 election and allowed the company to charge customers for billions of dollars of cost overruns at the Vogtle nuclear power plant.
Commissioners say the moves were needed to improve Georgia’s power infrastructure. And they cite a three-year Georgia Power rate freeze they approved in July as evidence that they’re sensitive to consumer prices.
The commission’s five members — all Republicans — serve in districts but are elected statewide by Georgia voters. Elections have been postponed in recent years.
In 2020, voting rights and conservation groups challenged Georgia’s system of electing PSC statewide saying the system dilutes Black votes.
A federal judge agreed, issuing a ruling that delayed the 2022 elections for incumbents Echols and Johnson.
An appeals court later overturned the judge’s ruling. But the case remained stuck in court, and the state again canceled planned 2024 elections for Echols, Johnson and incumbent Tricia Pridemore.
Amid the delays, the Republican-controlled General Assembly approved a bill rescheduling elections for all PSC seats. The idea was to ensure no more than two commissioners would be up for election in any given year, promoting continuity on the board.
The result is that four of the five incumbents will serve more than the standard six-year term.
Top contributors
Amid the on-again, off-again schedule, incumbents spent money on elections that never happened. But they had no problem raising more cash — often from companies that stand to benefit from PSC decisions.
The AJC reviewed contributions to Echols since his last election in November 2016. It reviewed contributions to Johnson since his appointment to the PSC in July 2021. It also reviewed contributions to their 2025 Democratic opponents, who launched their campaigns this year.
Johnson’s top contributors include Kyle Ormsby ($15,400), chief executive of Southeast Connections, a pipeline construction firm; James Bond ($13,000), president of Public Service Telephone Company in Reynolds; and Celeste Weaver ($12,500), an executive at Ringgold Telephone Company.
None of the three contributors responded to requests for comment.
In a statement, Johnson said anyone expecting favors from him “will be greatly disappointed.”
“I’m fighting for Georgia consumers, and that’s why I delivered an energy rate freeze for three years to provide much needed relief and predictability for families and businesses,” he wrote.
Echols’ top contributors include Lawrenceville utility construction firm Gunter Construction Co. ($23,800) and Ben Tarbutton III ($14,900), owner of Sandersville Railroad Company.
Last year the PSC allowed the Sandersville Railroad to use the government’s eminent domain power to acquire parts of 18 Hancock County parcels over the objection of the property owners. The railroad planned to build a spur line to serve private industries, but the PSC ruled the line was in the public interest.
“I have supported Tim (Echols) since he ran for the first time in 2010 and continue to back candidates who help support Georgia’s winning business climate by ensuring we have safe, reliable and affordable energy from a variety of sources,” Tarbutton said in an email to the AJC.
A representative of Gunter Construction did not respond to a request for comment.
Another top Echols contributor was Green Power Solutions ($22,200), which operates a Dublin wood-burning “biomass” power plant.
Last year the PSC approved a Georgia Power plan to buy more electricity from biomass facilities. Supporters, including Echols, said the plan would create forestry and trucking jobs and tap another reliable energy source. Critics said electricity from biomass costs two to three times more than other sources — costs that would be passed along to ratepayers.
Green Power Solutions is part of the Beasley Group, a forest products company with numerous affiliates, some of which produce biomass electricity. Echols received $43,100 from various Beasley Group companies, records show.
A Beasley representative did not respond to requests for comment.
In a statement, Echols said he’s “overseen many power plant and gas line construction projects” as a commissioner and acknowledged that many of his contributions come from those sectors.
Echols made a pledge in his 2010 campaign not to take money from employees, lawyers or lobbyists from companies regulated by the agency.
He said in his statement that he stood by that promise in 2010 and 2016 but was still criticized for the money he did accept.
For this race, he changed course.
“I felt I had proved my independence and changed my policy, knowing I would need every penny of funds to defeat a fierce opponent,” Echols wrote.
A big advantage
Democratic candidates for the PSC have raised a fraction of their Republican opponents’ haul.
Peter Hubbard has raised less than $25,000 through early July for his campaign against Fitz Johnson.
Democrat Alicia Johnson has raised about $71,000 for her campaign against Echols through September.
Alicia Johnson’s top contributor was the Georgia Conservation Voters Action Fund ($8,400), while Hubbard’s top contributor was the group’s political director, Connie DiCicco ($2,500).
Records show Fitz Johnson had nearly $350,000 in cash on hand for his campaign as of June, compared to Hubbard’s $8,200. Echols had about $138,000 in the bank as of June, compared to $39,000 Alicia Johnson reported last week.
“It’s certainly not a level playing field,” Hubbard said.
He said the money raised by Echols and Johnson is “reflective of the entrenched moneyed interests” and called donations from for-profit companies deeply unethical.
“They are there to look after the public interest, and if they’re being corrupted with dollars from those they regulate, meant to sway their opinion, then we don’t have a very effective or moral Public Service Commission,” he said.
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