ATLANTA, Ga. — Georgians in all 159 counties will help pick two members of the state Public Service Commission this fall, and the results could give Democrats a majority on the five-member board that sets what Georgia Power customers pay.
The board oversees privately owned power, gas and telecom companies operating in the state. It now has three Republicans and two Democrats. Commissioners must live in the district they represent, but the races are statewide, so voters anywhere in Georgia can vote in both.
In District 3, Democrat Peter Hubbard is defending the seat he won in a 2025 special election, when he took nearly 63% of the vote against then-commissioner Fitz Johnson. Hubbard took office in January for a one-year term and wants a full six-year term this time. Johnson, a Republican appointed to the commission by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2021, is running to win it back. During his time on the board he voted for a string of Georgia Power rate increases, a temporary rate freeze and the utility’s large system expansion.
The District 5 seat is open. Tricia Pridemore left it to run for Congress, lost, and then stepped down early, and Kemp tapped Stan Wise, who served on the commission years ago, to fill in through January, when the term expires. Republican Josh Tolbert, an engineer who has worked on power plants, faces Democrat Shelia Edwards, who worked with Lockheed and NASA after the Challenger disaster.
Power bills are at the center of the campaign. Hubbard has pushed for closer review of Georgia Power spending and wants data centers to cover the cost of the electricity they demand. Johnson has said existing commission rules already shield ratepayers from data center costs. At an Atlanta Press Club debate, Tolbert argued the board needs a member with energy expertise, while Edwards said the commission already has engineers on staff and needs someone focused on families, seniors and veterans.
The winners will face big decisions. Georgia Power’s next long-term energy plan is due in 2028, followed by its first full rate case since 2022, and commissioners expect the utility to file another update to its current plan next year as it races to serve new data centers.
Early voting runs through Oct. 30, and Election Day is Nov. 3.
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