Public Service Commission race was about pocketbooks, not politics

I am getting mail giving me credit for the defeat of the two incumbent Republican members of the Georgia Public Service Commission this past week. I am getting mail blaming me for the defeat of the two incumbent members of the Georgia Public Service Commission this past week. To quote Mark Twain when he read a report he had died: “The report of my death was an exaggeration.” So was my influence on the outcome of the PSC elections.

If I had that kind of influence, nobody would dare think of drilling in our Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge for titanium dioxide in order that the world never run out of toothpaste whitener. I have expressed righteous indignation on the subject numerous times yet my sources tell me the issue is still very much a possibility, thanks to an unholy alliance of powerful timber barons, disingenuous politicians and sneaky chemical companies. More on that subject later. Today, we are talking about why the two incumbent commissioners, Tim Echols and Fitz Johnson, were given the heave-ho by the voters.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, nearly 1.5 million Georgians voted in the PSC race. Democrats Alicia Johnson and Peter Hubbard won their seats on the commission by roughly 25 points. Not even close.

Looking back, the defeat of Echols and Johnson was no surprise to me. I got the feeling early on that there was a real possibility the two incumbents were in trouble when I kept reading and hearing that the election was all about Republicans versus Democrats. If Democrats won, Georgia would become “another California.” Windmills and solar panels and transgender operations for prisoners. Except to the voters it wasn’t about party loyalty or California. It was about our utility bills.

I think the reason the political consultants made the PSC races about party loyalty was that selling the performance of Echols and Johnson as effective utility regulators was not an option. No one wanted to talk about six rate increases in the last three years (Note: Commissioner Echols told me that six increases was not correct. There were only three. One increase was phased in over three years. I will leave it to you to decide if you want to count that as one hit to your pocketbook, or three.)

How do you tiptoe past voters the fact that the average Georgia Power residential customer’s bill has increased about $43 per month or over $500 annually? You raise the specter of Georgia becoming the land of Fruits and Nuts and for good measure you throw in transgender operations for prisoners as an additional idiotic reason.

The Georgia Public Service Commission is seen by many as being too cozy with Georgia Power. To voters, perception became reality. As I wrote earlier, the PSC has allowed Georgia Power to charge ratepayers for $7.5 billion of the $10 billion in costs overruns at the Vogtle nuclear power plant, instead of making Southern Company shareholders pay. Georgia Power is a Southern Company subsidiary. As information, Southern Company reported 2024 earnings of $4.4 billion, a $400 million or 10 percent increase from 2023. Those are bad optics, folks. Why should we ratepayers be on the hook for Georgia Power’s cost overruns? It is not our fault they blew their budget.

Earlier this year, the commission voted unanimously to freeze base power rates for the next three years, although your power bill could still be “adjusted” next year for fuel prices and hurricane cleanup costs, which could mean a further rate increase on your monthly bill.

If any of the geniuses who provided political advice to the two incumbents are reading this, my reader mail might be instructive. A lot of readers consider themselves Republicans, but not automatons. They told me they didn’t vote for the incumbents for many of the reasons listed above. Pocketbooks above party.

To the Democrats high-fiving and thinking this is the first sign of a political left turn in our state, don’t get your hopes up. This was a pocketbook issue, not a political statement. Like your Republican colleagues you are being held captive by the extremists in your party.

To the Republicans braying about Georgia becoming California, may I remind you that you still have a 3-2 majority on the commission. I would suggest you tell those three members that going forward they pay more attention to us and less to Georgia Power’s wish list and there is a good chance we won’t have to have this particular conversation again.

You can reach Dick Yarbrough at dick@dickyarbrough.com or at P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139.