The following Georgia PSC information is for FAQ, flyer, website and social media postings. I’ve also attached the 2025 elections calendar and the advance voting dates and locations in DeKalb County.
Important Facts about the PSC and Your Vote
FACTS: (What is the PSC? What do commissioners do? Who holds them accountable?)
This is the first time since 2020 that voters will have a chance to vote for a Public Service Commissioner. The primary elections for PSC Districts 2 and 3 are set for June 17!
In Short: The Georgia Public Service Commission sets your power bills, influences climate policy, and shapes Georgia’s energy future
The PSC is made up of five commissioners — currently, all Republican — who each serve a five-year term. While a commissioner must live in the geographic district they represent, all five are elected by voters statewide.
The often-overlooked agency is the state’s top utilities regulator, so these five commissioners set the rates for your electricity, gas, and, in some cases, internet providers.
What is the Georgia Public Service Commission: The Georgia Public Service Commission has exclusive power to decide what are fair and reasonable rates for services under its jurisdiction. It must balance Georgia citizens’ need for reliable services and reasonable rates with the need for utilities to earn a reasonable return on investment.
What does the PSC do: The Commission protects consumers’ interests while abiding by legal standards in setting rates. All matters scheduled for public hearing are heard by the Commissioners or in special cases, by an appointed hearing officer in open session.
In regulating rates, the Commission does not guarantee profits to service providers. It is the company’s responsibility to make prudent, sound business decisions to produce earnings. When regulated companies bring a rate request before the PSC, it may be taken up first by one of the Commission’s standing committees on which the commissioners serve: Telecommunications, Facilities Protection, Energy, or Administrative Affairs.
IMPORTANT: The bottom line is that the PSC commissioners’ decisions affect every household in Georgia. Whether you’re concerned about high energy bills, utility shutoffs, clean energy, or climate resilience, the PSC plays a key role.
In fact, in 2023, PSC commissioners allowed Georgia Power to hike rates to customers to cover $7.6 billion, or fully 74%, of the massive $10.2 billion cost overrun for the two long-delayed, trouble-plagued Vogtle reactors. That increased the average customer’s electric bill by about 5%.
Since 2020, the average Georgia Power household is paying about $43 more per month for electricity, on average, due to PSC-approved rate hikes.
Here’s a breakdown of the PSC commissioners’ key responsibilities:
- Approving rate hikes by Georgia Power and the state’s other electric, natural gas, and telecom utilities.
- The ability to regulate rates and usage for high-energy consumption industries, such as data centers.
- Long- term infrastructure and energy planning via a 20-year Integrated Resource Plan.
- The ability to create and regulate Georgia’s sustainable energy policies.
- Long-term policy planning to tackle climate change.
Keep in mind that the PSC also regulates internet providers. This is particularly important for rural Georgians, who are most affected by PSC decisions about where to expand internet access.
Key Points for Georgia Public Service Commission 2025 Special Primary Election:
- Eight candidates, including both incumbents, are running for two seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission.
- The District 2 race features a Republican primary followed by a contest between the Republican nominee and a Democrat in November.
- The District 3 race has four Democrats vying for the nomination to challenge the incumbent Republican in the general election.
PSC Boundaries (District 2):
PSC District 2 stretches from Rockdale and Henry counties in Atlanta’s southern and eastern suburbs southeast all the way through Chatham County.
PSC Boundaries (District 3):
District 3 – the Atlanta district – includes Fulton, DeKalb, and Clayton counties.
CANDIDATES for Districts 2:
Republican Primary
District 2 Commissioner Tim Echols will be opposed in a June 17 GOP primary by Lee Muns, who ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Columbia County Commission in 2018.
Democratic Primary
The winner will face Democrat Alicia Johnson of Augusta in November.
CANDIDATES for District 3:
Republican Primary
In District 3, Commissioner Fitz Johnson is unopposed on the Republican side.
Democratic Primary
Four Democrats will square off in the June primary for their party’s nomination to challenge the incumbent.
The list includes Daniel Blackman, who was defeated in a bid for the PSC in 2020 and went on to join the Biden administration as Southeast regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, former state Rep. Keisha Waites, clean energy advocate Peter Hubbard, and Robert Jones, who has worked in the energy and telecommunications fields.
DISCLAIMER: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and does not endorse candidates or political parties, or engage in direct campaigning.
As the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization, the NAACP actively works with our more than 2,000 branches to inform and encourage civic engagement through voter registration activities and public forums, and actively opposes voter discrimination and other policies that make it more difficult for citizens to cast their ballot.