An energy watchdog launched a nonprofit organization Monday aimed at bringing transparency and accountability to energy regulation in Georgia.
The new group, Georgia Utility Watch, is the brainchild of Patty Durand, a former candidate for a seat on the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC). The organization’s goals include advocating for fair electric rates, a more transparent PSC, and more accountable state leadership on energy issues.
Durand cited a 23.7% increase last year in Georgia Power residential rates—an unprecedented hike, she says—that went unchecked by both the commission and the General Assembly.
She also pointed to lawmakers’ failure for two consecutive years to pass a bill that would have reestablished the Consumer Utility Counsel, which was disbanded in 2008 during budget cuts brought on by the Great Recession.
Durand noted that nearly 200,000 Georgia Power households were disconnected last year.
