PSC commissioners have the power to approve or reject utility costs — and voters have the power to hold them accountable.
Most people know Georgia Power because we get monthly bills from them. Fewer people know about the Georgia Public Service Commission, or PSC — the five elected officials who approve many of the decisions that shape electric bills in Georgia.
Think of the PSC like Congress for your power bill. Georgia Power can ask to spend money, raise rates, or build expensive projects, but the PSC decides what costs customers are required to pay.
Georgia can have affordable, reliable energy and responsible economic growth — but only if communities are protected from corporations shifting costs onto the public, and regulators use their authority to protect customers.
What is the PSC?
The PSC regulates monopoly utilities like Georgia Power. Georgia Power customers cannot simply choose another electric company, the PSC is supposed to act as the public watchdog and make sure utility decisions are fair, reasonable, and in the public interest.
The Georgia PSC has five statewide elected commissioners.
What does the PSC decide?
The PSC determines which costs Georgia Power can recover from customers and how those costs are allocated. Those approved costs then appear in customers’ monthly bills.
| PSC Decision | Appears on Customers’ Bills As |
|---|---|
| Approval of fuel-cost recovery | Fuel costs |
| Approval of storm-cost recovery | Storm recovery costs |
| Approval of new power plants | Power plant costs |
| Approval of transmission projects | Transmission costs |
| Approval of grid upgrades | Grid upgrade costs |
| Approval of utility return on equity (ROE) | Utility profit |
| Decisions about who pays for infrastructure needed to serve large new customers (such as data centers) | Can affect how infrastructure costs are allocated among customers |
Who controls what?
For Georgia Power customers, the PSC is one of the most important decision-makers affecting the bill that arrives every month.
Why does this matter for affordability?
Your bill is not just the cost of electricity. It also reflects decisions about what gets built, who pays for it, and whether regulators protect customers from unnecessary costs.
When utilities build expensive projects or plan around massive new corporate energy demand, those costs can end up on customer bills if regulators approve them.
That is why the real question is not just: “What does Georgia Power want?”
As an investor-owned utility, Georgia Power earns profits through rates approved by regulators. Because the company is authorized to earn a return on equity (ROE) on certain capital investments, investments in power plants, transmission lines, and other infrastructure can increase the amount of capital on which that return is calculated.
The real question is: “What will the PSC allow — and who will pay?”
As data centers and large corporations demand more electricity, the PSC must make sure families and small businesses are not stuck paying for infrastructure built mainly to serve them.
This is about economics, not just clean energy.
You do not have to care about climate policy to care about lower bills.
Some of the cheapest and fastest energy sources to build today are solar, and battery storage. Homegrown energy, energy efficiency, and smarter grid investments can lower costs, create local jobs, and reduce exposure to unstable fuel prices.
When the PSC approves long-term energy plans, it should ask basic pocketbook questions:
- What are the cheapest options?
- What can be built fastest?
- Who benefits?
- Who pays if the forecast is wrong?
- Are families and small businesses being protected?
Before customers pay, the PSC should show the math.
You are not powerless.
Utility regulation is confusing. Hearings are technical. Corporate interests have lawyers, lobbyists, and constant access.
But none of that means you have to sit on the sidelines.
PSC commissioners are elected officials. Voters and organized communities can hold them accountable for what they decide. When communities organize, elected officials have to pay attention.
Community power can look like:
- learning how PSC decisions affect bills,
- showing up at hearings,
- sharing personal stories,
- contacting commissioners,
- organizing neighbors,
- building coalitions,
- and voting in PSC elections.
Utilities have money, experts, lawyers and lobbyists. But all those are indirect ways of getting what they want. The most direct power belongs to the largest group of people. And communities always have more of them than utilities.
What should communities demand?
Before approving new costs, the PSC should ask:
- What’s being built, and why?
- Can this be done for less?
- Can this be built faster?
- Are customers protected from unnecessary costs?
- Are large corporations paying their fair share?
- Are families and small businesses being protected?
- Will future generations benefit from these investments, in the form of clean and reliable energy?
The bottom line
Your power bill is not just about electricity. It is about your health, your wealth, and your future.
The PSC has the authority to protect customers from unfair costs. Voters have the power to demand that they use it.