Solar industry spends to flip control of Georgia utility commission

This November, Georgia voters will decide two seats on the state's Public Service Commission, the body that decides how much Georgia Power can charge customers and what kind of power plants it builds. The race matters because it could shift the commission's balance of power, and it comes as the utility pushes to build large new gas plants to meet demand from data centers.

The solar industry's main trade group, the Solar Energy Industries Association, is spending $250,000 through a political action committee to back two Democratic candidates, Peter Hubbard and Shelia Edwards, who are seen as more open to solar and battery storage instead of new gas plants. It's a relatively small sum for a statewide race, but the group says these low-profile utility commission races can be swayed by modest spending, since few voters pay attention to them.

The stakes for household bills are real. The commission has approved six rate increases since 2023, and last December it approved a plan for Georgia Power to build 10 gigawatts of new gas plants and batteries, a move expected to raise average household bills by about $20 a month. Supporters of the Democratic candidates argue that pairing solar with batteries would be cheaper and faster to build than gas, and could help shield customers from rising costs. Whoever homeowners elect to this commission will have real influence over electricity rates in the years ahead, as Georgia Power plans a wave of new power plant construction.