Early vote in the elementary elections is taking place for two seats on The Public Service Committee in GeorgiaThe strong committee of the organizers with the finals on prices and energy plans for the largest electrical benefit in the state, Georgia Power – a subsidiary of one of the largest aid tools in the country.
This year’s PSC elections come with an additional audit because nearly five years have passed since the last time, and at that time energy bills in Georgia have increased repeatedly with the approval of the current committee. It is also the only state in the state level on Georgia’s vote this year.
Government utility commissioners throughout the country It has a major impact on climate work because it oversees electrical facilities and has a final saying on how to generate these energy facilities – one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions. In states such as Georgia where monopolistic facilities dominate, the authority of the commissioners is amplified.
The elections of the General Service Committee in Georgia have been canceled in the last two sessions due to a lawsuit for voting rights that defy the way in which the elections are being held, which means that three commissioners continued to serve and vote on the main issues without confronting the voters as originally prescribed. Two of these commissioners, Republican Tim Ecols and Vitz Johnson, in the polls this year.
Candidates for the living committee in custom areas. These elections are dedicated to the second region, which covers a group of Eastern Georgia including Augusta and Savanna, and the third region, which covers the three metro provinces in the three Atlanta in Clayton, Dikaleb and Volton. But all Georgia voters elect the commissioners, which means that any registered voter in Georgia can vote on both seats in the polling, regardless of where they live.
While the occupants of the ongoing jobs to keep their seats have described their work on reliable energy, the new nuclear reactors at the Voodal Water Factory and the Energy Program at reasonable prices, their opponents sharply criticized the frequent high prices and the committee in which they argue do not listen to Georgian concerns.
The candidates below in the preliminary elections on June 17. The winners of these elections and any flow of a framework will compete in the general elections on November 4.
Region 2
Democrats:
Alicia Johnson It runs without opposition to democratic nomination in the second province, which means that she will face the winner of the Republican preliminary elections in November. With a background in calling, humanitarian services and health care, Johnson said that her main interest is the high costs of Georgian who live in poverty.
She said: “The elderly, children, single mothers, and families working in our societies all over 159 provinces in Georgia must make difficult decisions such as whether they buy medical prescriptions or not pay their electricity bills or not.”
Johnson said that the committee should pay the utility to invest more in clean energy, including what is known as distributed energy – solar panels on the surface and community solar energy – as well as storing batteries and microbes to operate new industries such as data centers.
It also created a proposal before the committee to temporarily freeze the basic energy prices, which it described “a strategic step due to the special elections.”
Johnson said: “We are already paying some of the highest energy bills in the country,” Johnson said. “So I see this very late. We needed this type of protection before.”
Republicans:
The current second neighborhood Tim Echols The current current member may be the most prominent in the committee, known for his radio program and public manifestations throughout the state, as well as his work in PSC. Echols indicated that as one reason, voters should choose.
He said: “People have known the commissioner who can be accessed, and the commissioner is doing all these educational events.” “So if you want me to continue my enthusiasm and everything I put in this job in creating this wonderful environment that we have in Georgia attracts a lot of works, and for this reason you should keep me.”
He also cited his work to enhance solar energy in Georgia and ensure the completion of the new nuclear reactors in Vogtle. The state has achieved tremendous steps on solar energy on the scale of benefit, as it ranked seventh in the country, but it fails to store the battery, which Echols wants to change. He also said that the state needs more nuclear energy, to replace the final fossil fuel stations.
Echols also described the freezing rate, which was called “victory for consumers”, although the committee has not actually built it yet. But he had no doubt.
“It will pass,” said echols. “I can guarantee you that the five Republicans will freeze. It will happen.”
Republican competitor Lee Monz Take the prominent Echols target in an interview with WABE.
He said: “It is known a double -edged sword.” “It means that you are judged based on what you have done. And when people look at these things, what I hear from many of them is the quality of the service they got from my opponent is not what they are looking for.”
With a background in the construction of a power plant, Muns is a strong supporter of nuclear energy. But he also sharply criticizes how the committee has dealt with the new reactors of Plant Vogtle, a project that came late for its original budget. He said that commissioners should have done more to protect energy customers in Georgia from these costs.
“I am everything about tables, I am about cost control tools, I am everything about quality, I am everything about safety,” Monz said. “I want to bring all this experience to the table.”
Since nuclear energy takes time to build, Monz said it prefers natural gas and solar energy in the short term and supports gradual disposal of coal due to environmental risks.
Region 3
Democrats:
Prior Environmental Protection Agency official Daniel Blackman The committee was nominated before, and the loss of the surface round of the fourth province seat in January 2021 – the last time that the PSC race exceeded the preliminary elections.
It has pushed his transformation to the third boycott this time to challenge the eligibility that has been played in court even with the continued early vote. In a hearing on Tuesday, a judge said that Foreign Minister Brad Ravenback was right to exclude Blackman from the race. Blackman still can appeal, but as is the case now, the sounds in his favor will not count.
While he said his main interest is high energy bills, Blackman said he would also bring critical experience from his years of work in the Environmental Protection Agency.
“I think what is missing in the committee is a strong and keen understanding of the energy industry,” he said. “But I had already had to negotiate these deals.”
Like other candidates, Blackman was criticizing the freezing of the proposed rate, which he said wanted to see a longer period of time. He also said that Georgia Power is currently at risk of “discrimination” for fossil fuel resources such as gas and coal, and instead should focus on renewable energy sources, batteries and network modernization. He said he wanted to involve the public in planning the facilities.
Blackman said: “I would like to make sure that we are doing community municipal halls throughout Georgia to bring more price motors to the conversation to determine how these rates affect a daily basis,” said Blackman.
As the founder of the Georgia Energy Solutions Center, Peter Hobard It has been in PSC procedures since 2019 and said he is now ready to present this experience to a seat in the committee. He said that his concentration is to reduce energy bills and follow different ways to meet the energy needs in Georgia, including solar energy and batteries, programs that reduce demand, solar energy on the surface and energy capacity with neighboring facilities.
“The current commissioners accept this nominal value, the plan that Georgia Energy Company offers them,” Hopard said. “I have criticism of these plans.”
Hobard said he prefers to be proactive as a commissioner, and is looking for new solutions and programs, rather than interacting with the plans that Georgia Power laid down. He also said that he is frustrated with what he sees as a lack of response from current commissioners to voter fears about the ability to withstand costs and climate change.
“I see a shortage of accountability between people in the Public Service Committee towards residents of residential electricity prices or customers, these diligent Georgians,” Hopard said. “I want them to allow them to be better acting.”
Former utility analyst Robert Jones The committee said that it uses the “pardoned rules and tools” in its passage.
He said: “In my opinion, the committee was very generous and favorable to the authority of Georgia.”
Jones said the current model for planning and building energy resources, which transmits a lot of costs to the tool customers, is a comment from a period of slower growth. He believes that the tool should instead have to finance its growth in the capital market like other companies.
He said: “What the committee is doing is the use of price motives and small companies, as I call it the mortgage lenders free of interest to the company, which is considered a business directed towards monopoly, which are actions directed towards profit that achieve excessive profits.” “This is out of reality with the reality of the market for what the competitor will face.”
Jones said he has experience working with data centers, which is the main engine for the current increase in energy demand, as a former Microsoft executive director. He said that data centers want clean energy – which he called “inconsistent” with Georgia Power using fossil fuel.
The former state legislator and a member of the Atlanta City Council Kishha Sean is waiting He refused to conduct an interview with this story, but he answered the questions via email. She said that her previous experience in the government and the local government distinguishes it because it knows “how to move in the government, write policy, and provide results.”
As a commissioner, Whitts said it would press for renewable energy and strong standards to limit Georgia Power’s dependence on coal and natural gas. It also supports a policy called performance -based regulations, which links the tool’s profits to profits with performance measures so that “it only benefits when it meets the needs of its customers, not only when they build an expensive infrastructure,” she wrote.
“The Georgian deserves a fighter on the table, a person who understands the effect of emerging facilities bills on daily families,” Witts wrote. “I run … bringing transparency, fairness and accountability in front of the agency to touch every family in this state.”
Republicans:
The current third neighborhood Fitz Johnson Refuse an interview with this story. He was appointed to fill the vacancies in the committee in 2021, and the subsequent elections were canceled for the rest of his predecessor due to the voting rights suit in 2022.
When he qualified for the race earlier this year, Johnson Wabi told that the committee “is doing a great job with the facilities throughout Georgia” and called on the sponsorship of price perpetrators his first goal. The new contract conditions for the adult customers approved by the committee earlier this year as one example. These conditions are designed to protect regular and small residential businesses from high costs to serve new data centers and other adult energy users, although some critics have questioned whether the provisions are providing adequate protection.
In addition to the service in Georgia PSC, Johnson chairs the Natural Gas Planning Committee for the National Commission for Organizational UNHCR.
