by Ty Tagami | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Two Democrats swept the only statewide elections on Tuesday’s ballot, upending total Republican control over the five-member Public Service Commission.
The agency, which regulates utilities and sets consumer rates, is expected to play a central role in planning for future needs of electricity-hungry data centers.
Democrats Alicia Johnson and Peter Hubbard used that issue coupled with frustration over recent rate increases to topple Tim Echols and Fitz Johnson, the two Republican incumbents who were up for election.
The lopsided wins were rare statewide victories for Democrats, who had not seen such success in nearly two decades aside from the two U.S. Senate seats captured by Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.
Charlie Bailey, chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia, said the outcome indicated Georgians were “sick of Republicans who help corporations and billionaires enrich themselves on the backs of working people,” casting it as a positive sign for the party ahead of next year’s elections.
Republicans still have a 3-2 grip on the PSC, but Democrats will have a seat at the table.
The PSC is considering proposals to expand Georgia Power’s fleet of natural gas turbines to sate demand by anticipated growth of data centers, which Echols had touted as economic drivers.
Hubbard, a solar power advocate, had said the PSC’s trajectory would further increase electricity bills, a claim refuted by the two Republicans. He and Alicia Johnson had called for more sustainable energy and ratepayer protections.
Echols, first elected in 2010, and Fitz Johnson, appointed in 2021, oversaw a half dozen rate increases over the past couple years.
This was the first time Fitz Johnson had to stand for election due to delays caused by a 2022 lawsuit over the election process, which resulted in the postponement of both the 2022 and 2024 PSC elections. Because of that litigation, Echols did not have to run for reelection in 2022 after winning a second term in 2016.
The commissioners normally run for six-year terms within their district of residence, but they stand for election statewide and represent the whole state.
The Democrats, who campaigned on more sustainable energy and ratepayer protections, each took nearly 900,000 votes — well over 300,000 more than each of the Republicans.
Echols, who lost to Alicia Johnson in District 2 in eastern Georgia, embraced data centers as good for the economy, and he supported the expansion of nuclear Plant Vogtle, which was completed last year. Fitz Johnson, who lost to Hubbard in metro Atlanta’s District 3, had asserted that new policies by the Republican-led PSC had strengthened the electrical grid and would contain rate increases.
The two Republicans had repeatedly expressed concerns about low turnout among their voters, fearing that this election cycle with many municipal races on the ballot would favor Democrats.
The turnout Tuesday was more than 20 times higher than the GOP primary elections in June.
