Shelia Edwards wins Democratic PSC primary as GOP contest heads to runoff

Democrats now know who their candidates will be this fall in two high stakes races to decide control of the powerful Georgia Public Service Commission, the state’s top utility regulator.

But Republicans will have to wait a bit longer. One GOP primary is heading to a runoff after Tuesday’s voting, while the other was still to close to call early Wednesday morning.

In the PSC District 5 Democratic primary, Shelia Edwards won outright over opponents Angelia Pressley and Craig Cupid to advance to this fall’s general election, according to The Associated Press.

For Edwards, a veteran of Atlanta city government and Democratic politics, it’s her second victory in a PSC primary. She won the District 3 Democratic primary outright back in 2022, but never got a shot in the general election after the elections were postponed because of a legal challenge to Georgia’s statewide elections for PSC seats.

Edwards campaigned on lowering Georgia Power customers’ monthly electric bills and pushing the utility to add more clean energy to the grid.

On the GOP side in the District 5 PSC primary, Republicans Joshua Tolbert and Bobby Mehan will face-off in a runoff next month to decide the party’s candidate. The runoff is scheduled for June 16.

Tolbert, an engineer and self-proclaimed “nerd,” earned 47% of the vote, good enough to finish first in Tuesday’s primary, but below the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff. Mehan, a mediator from Bremen in west Georgia, finished second with 31% of the vote to earn a spot in the runoff. Carolyn Roddy, a telecommunications attorney, finished third.

In the District 3 GOP contest, former Republican PSC commissioner Fitz Johnson was clinging to a narrow lead over Brandon Martin, but the AP had not yet declared a winner Wednesday morning.

Johnson served on the commission for more than four years after being appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp, but lost his seat last fall to Democratic Commissioner Peter Hubbard. Johnson’s little-known challenger Martin has a campaign website, but has remained under the radar since launching his campaign.

The Republican winner in District 3 will take on Hubbard this fall. Hubbard ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and automatically advanced to the general election.

What does the PSC do?

As the state’s top utility regulator, the PSC plays a major role in the lives of most Georgians.

The commission’s five elected members set the rates that Georgia Power, the state’s largest electric utility, can charge its 2.8 million customers. Commissioners also decide how much profit the monopoly utility can earn and the sources it uses to generate electricity.

This cycle, the primaries for the two races have received more attention than usual, largely because of what transpired in the PSC elections last year.

After 20-plus years of GOP dominance on the PSC, Democrats managed to flip two seats in November. The winning Democrats — Hubbard and Alicia Johnson — scored lopsided victories after hammering the Republican incumbents on the campaign trail for raising Georgia Power customers’ bills. Georgia Power’s residential customers had seen their monthly bills increase six times since the start of 2023 because of votes by GOP members of the PSC.

Though Republicans currently hold a narrow 3-to-2 edge, Democrats could snatch control of the commission if they sweep both races this fall.

What are the key issues in the PSC races?

Power bills and broader affordability concerns are still top of mind for many Georgia voters, along with data centers.

Georgia is a top destination for the electricity-gobbling facilities, but most voters are not pleased about it. According to a new Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll, nearly 53% of Republican primary respondents said they would somewhat or strongly disapprove of a data center being built in their community. More than 75% for Democratic respondents said they would disapprove.

The results come after two recent pledges by Georgia Power to lower bills.

The average residential ratepayer could see their monthly bills shrink by $4.04 starting in June, pending the PSC’s approval of a deal next week.

The utility has also agreed to structure its next rate adjustment — to be proposed in 2028 — to be roughly $8.50 a month less than otherwise would be for residential customers. Still, any decrease in monthly bills resulting from that agreement wouldn’t take effect until 2029.

PSC commissioners are elected statewide, but the candidates themselves must live within the boundaries of the district they’re running in

District 3 includes Clayton, DeKalb and Fulton counties, while District 5 captures large portions of northwest and west-central Georgia, including parts of western metro Atlanta.