Georgia PUC needs to put Georgians First Fund on docket to push cheaper clean energy

Allison Kvien

This commentary is by Allison Kvien, the Regulatory Director for Vote Solar in Georgia.

Georgians suffer one of the worst energy cost burdens (the percentage of household income spent on utilities) in the United States. Last year, Georgia Power – the state’s largest utility – hit its customers with multiple rate hikes. The Southern Environmental Law Center estimates that these hikes will amount to a $45 increase in monthly bills on average between January 2023 and 2025.

Rather than spending that money on the transition to clean energy, the funds go to the utilities to bolster profits, with investments in massive energy projects that take years to complete and are more expensive than solar and wind energy.

A recent report by the Georgia Solar Energy Industry Association and Vote Solar found that Georgia Power had earned $1.87 billion in excess profits over 11 years – over and above the company’s guaranteed profit range approved by state regulators. That money came straight out of the pockets of residents and businesses. According to the Sierra Club, Georgia Power almost always earns at or above its maximum profit allowance, which means Georgia Power will consistently earn more than 2% above the national utility average of 9.5%.

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Georgia Power is also quick to disconnect service to customers who can’t pay mounting electricity bills. During the COVID pandemic, as residents struggled with health and financial stresses, Georgia Power cut off electricity to more than 131,000 customers, according to the Solar Energy Industry Association. When Georgia Power does reconnect power, penalties and fees slam low-income families even harder. Electricity disconnections are a scandalous under-the-radar profit driver that customer advocates are beginning to address, locally and nationally.

It’s time to rise up and say, enough. It’s time to change the way Georgia thinks about energy generation and energy bills. Instead of investing in pricey natural gas and nuclear energy (and passing on the costs to consumers via rate hikes), we should be prioritizing investments in renewables like solar and wind which are not only healthier and cleaner, but vastly less expensive.

A bill making its way through the legislature, HB 1196, the Georgians First Fund, would force utilities to “allocate a portion of their revenue above the authorized target return” to correct some of the most egregious policies that harm low-income residents. The primary author of the bill, Rep. Becky Evans (D-Atlanta) has long championed clean energy policies that will improve the quality of life for all Georgians.

The Georgia First Fund would commit the excess profits of utilities to support urgent priorities, namely:

  • Bill assistance for low-income and energy burdened communities;

  • Energy efficiency programs that will help conserve energy and save residents money;

  • Residential on-site solar incentives that will accelerate the use of low-cost, environmentally friendly clean energy;

  • Weatherization programs that help residents deal with the increasing impacts of climate crisis;

  • Community solar installations that allow more residents to gain access to clean, low-cost electricity.

The Georgia First Fund represents a modest and reasonable attempt to use customers' payments to benefit the entire state. But it is not the only solution to the social, environmental, and financial externalities created by the states' current electric power system.

The Georgia Public Utilities Commission (PUC) needs to listen to the voices of customers and stop rubber-stamping requests from utilities that drive higher rates. It needs to crack down on disconnections and the associated penalties and fees. The GPUC needs to adopt regulations that foster greater clean, renewable energy generation.

The transition to a clean energy economy, with its multiple public health, financial and environmental benefits, should be a change we can all support.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Georgians First Fund would promote cheaper clean, renewable energy

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