ATLANTA — Nuclear Watch South and Georgia WAND filed a request with the Georgia Public Service Commission, the state agency that regulates Georgia Power,Β to hold in abeyance the commission’s planned vote for $7.56 billion, the largest rate increase in state history, until after an election for two expired commission seats is held.
Petitioners assert that two commissioners should not be voting due to litigation that has delayed elections for their seats: Commissioner Fitz Johnson was appointed to his seat in July 2021 and has never been elected by voters. His term expired Dec. 31, 2022. Commissioner Tim Echolsβ seat expired Dec. 31, 2022. Both seats were on the November 2022 ballot but were removed last August as a result of the stateβs appeal of a federal court ruling that PSC elections violate the Voting Right Act and disenfranchise black voters.
The Gwinnett Daily Post is a daily newspaper published in Gwinnett County, Georgia, and serves as the county's legal organ. The newspaper is owned by Times-Journal Inc. and prints Wednesday and Sunday each week.