Press Mention WABE/Grist March 31, 2024
Topical Mention
Who controls the power? The overlooked officials who have say over Georgia Power's policies and prices
In this mention
A WABE article examining the Georgia Public Service Commission's overlooked but powerful role in regulating Georgia Power's policies and electricity rates. The piece features college student Aurora Gray testifying before the five-member elected board about the existential threat of fossil fuel-based energy generation and the need for climate action. Part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the PSC's critical decisions on rate increases and renewable energy development.
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Who controls the power? The overlooked officials who have say over Georgia Power's policies and prices
Emily Jones | WABE
April 1st, 2024
The five Republican members of the Georgia Public Service Commission discuss a rate increase for Georgia Power Co. to pay costs at the utility's Vogtle nuclear power plant, Dec. 19, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy, File)
This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising electricity bills to developing renewable energy.
On a Tuesday morning in January, college student Aurora Gray stepped up to the podium in a windowless room in Atlanta, around the corner from the state Capitol building. In front of her sat a five-member panel of elected officials that oversees how and where many Georgia residents get their power.
"The generation of energy … using fossil fuels has become an existential threat to our safety due to the undisputed impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on our planet," Gray told the commission. "We must act now, as later is way too late."