A runoff election to a seat on the Georgia Public Service Commission is turning on the role the PSC has played in the controversial Vogtle nuclear power project. The runoff for the District 3 seat on Tuesday, Dec. 4, pits incumbent Republican Chuck Eaton, a conservative Republican, and Democrat Lindy Miller, who founded a renewable energy firm.
The Georgia commission consists of five members, representing geographic areas of the state although they are elected statewide. Commissioners must live in the districts they serve. They have staggered six-year terms.
In the Nov. 6 general election, according to Ballotpedia, Eaton won 49.8% of the vote, with 1,910,584 votes. Miller got 47.5% (1,821,259). Libertarian Ryan Graham got 2.7% (102,112). The failure of any candidate to win a majority triggered the runoff between the top two. Graham has not made an endorsement.
Eaton and Miller squared off last night (Nov. 28) in a formal debate at the Atlanta Press Club, sponsored by Georgia Public Radio. Miller immediately took issue with Eaton’s 12 years on the commission, where he has been a staunch supporter of the Atlanta-based Southern Company’s Vogtle project, now billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule.
Miller said the PSC has “failed to put in place incentives to finish on time and on budget” and that Georgia has the third highest energy prices in the U.S. and the fourth highest electricity rates. She said, “I will stand up and ask tough questions” about the Vogtle project. Eaton largely avoided Vogtle.
Eaton said in the debate that he supports electric vehicles, claiming that he has been an EV driver for several years. But he objected to a proposal by Miller to allow utilities to put EV charging stations into the rate base, saying he is “not keen on having other ratepayers paying for these charging stations.”
The PSC last December, over objections of its staff, gave Southern a green light to continue the Vogtle. A twin project in South Carolina, led by SCANA Corp., had already collapsed, leaving South Carolina customers holding a large, heavy financial bag. Both Georgia and South Carolina have provisions allowing utilities to earn a return on investments while plants are under construction, raising consumer bills even though the plants are not generating power.
Money has been an in issue in the campaign. Miller raised some $1 million for her challenge to Eaton, making it the most expensive PSC race in Georgia history. Nuclear Matters, the Nuclear Energy Institute’s political advocacy arm, poured $1 million into the race in the final weeks running up to the runoff, supporting Eaton. Eaton denied any knowledge of the nuclear money, saying “I only control my own campaign….” Stan Wise, a former long-time member of the Georgia PSC who left the commission in February, is one of the leaders of Nuclear Matters.
Perhaps reflecting the closeness of the race, Eaton, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, has “bombarded conservative households – as well as a few Democratic ones – with a robo-call touting his stance on abortion amid an edge runoff.”
The Georgia PSC third district consists of Atlanta and surrounded suburbs. Should Miller win the seat, she will become the only Democrat on the PSC, which has long been dominated by Republicans, as has Georgia. In the other PSC race in the November election, incumbent Republican Tricia Pridemore narrowly won in District 5 (west-central Georgia) with 1,930,403 votes (50.4%) to 1,804,181 votes (47.1%) for Democrat Dawn Randolph. Libertarian John Turpish won 2.5% or 96,548 votes.
In other Georgia PSC news, on Nov. 19, long-serving Republican Doug Everett announced he will retire effective December 31. He has represented District 1 (southern Georgia) since 2003. Republican Gov. Nathan Deal quickly named Republican Rep. Jason Shaw of Lakeland, Ga., to serve out the remainder of Everett’s term, ending in 2020.
–Kennedy Maize