Democrats flip Georgia PSC as power bills, data center costs loom

The Democrats have taken control of the Georgia Public Service Commission.

Two seats were up for election on Nov. 3 in the state's Districts 3 and 5. The PSC had a 3-2 Republican majority before the election.

District 3 incumbent Peter Hubbard, a Democrat, faced Republican Fitz Johnson; Hubbard unseated Johnson in a 2025 special election. Johnson served on the commission from 2021 through 2025 and was appointed by Governor Brian Kemp.

Hubbard won the District 3 seat with 56.2% of the vote, according to unofficial results Nov. 3, with 98% of localities reporting results.

Hubbard supports renewable energy and storage, as well as cutting "wasteful spending" by Georgia Power and the utility's "inflated" returns on equity. He also said he supports a 12-to-18-month data center moratorium and additional data center regulations.

Johnson supports an "America First" energy agenda; affordability and reliability for ratepayers; and ensuring that Georgia is a top state in which to do business.

In District 5, Democrat Sheila Edwards and Republican Josh Tolbert faced off. Edwards won the seat with 55.2% of the vote, according to unofficial results.

Both Edwards and Tolbert called for more affordable electric bills and additional utility oversight and transparency. They also said data centers should pay their own way.

Edwards said costs related to data centers should not be shifted to other ratepayers. Tolbert said data centers should provide the primary revenue for the grid expansion they need, consider bringing their own generation, and deliver a financial return to existing ratepayers.

The Georgia PSC has approved six rate increases since 2022, and it voted to freeze rates in 2025 until 2028. Frozen rates do not mean customer bills do not increase, however, as utilities can still recover fuel and storm costs.

Commission members serve six-year terms, so candidates elected this year will decide what happens when the 2028 rate freeze lifts.

Republican members have dominated the PSC for years, though that pattern changed in 2025 when Hubbard and fellow Democrat Alicia Johnson each won more than 60% of the vote in special elections as concerns grew about rising rates.

The commission voted in 2025 to approve a Georgia Power plan for nearly 10 gigawatts of new generation, primarily to serve anticipated demand from large-load customers such as data centers.

The commission also previously approved guardrails for data center deals, though candidates disagree on how much they trust those guardrails to insulate ratepayers from the costs of serving large-load customers.