Georgia Power hearing heats up with accusations about climate, donations
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Public speakers demanded investment in solar and criticized health impacts.
- Majority of commenters opposed fossil fuels, citing health, cost, and climate issues.
- Commissioners defended decisions, questioned speakers, and deflected climate concerns.
Monday and Tuesday were the last opportunities for Georgians to come face to face with the Public Service Commission to share their input on a 20-year Georgia Power energy plan before the commission votes to approve or deny the plan on July 15.
Of the 50 people who spoke over the two days – which consisted of pediatricians, Reverends, environmental activist groups and passionate individuals – nearly all listed concerns about coal and gas included in the power plan, the effect it would have on the environment and peoples’ health, the worsening impact on climate change and the cost incurred to ratepayers.
In a usually calm and diplomatic setting, commissioners and constituents had fiery exchanges.
In Monday’s hearing, commissioners were accused of receiving funding from Georgia Power by Rev. Keyanna Jones Moore, of Park Ave Baptist in Fulton County.
“It’s no secret you all receive money from Georgia Power,” Moore said. “... When are the people of Georgia going to have to stop paying for what Georgia Power does that ultimately harms (us)? … I urge you to be ethical in your response to Georgia Power.”
Commissioner Tricia Pridemore responded to Moore via video call during the hearing.
“No commissioner accepts funds from the utilities, it’s not a debate, it’s a statement of fact,” Pridemore said. “I recognize that witnesses like to accelerate their accusations towards the end of the (public witness) period.”
“You do not intimidate me,” Moore responded.
“I’m not intimidating you, it is a statement of fact,” Pridemore said.
Pridemore further denied Moore’s claim and told the Ledger-Enquirer via email that she has never been paid by Georgia Power or Georgia Power lawyers.
Georgia resident Mark Spivey took to the public witness podium about 20 minutes after Moore. Spivey wanted to know why the commissioners approved a biomass deal in September that earned Georgia Power three deals worth billions of dollars.
“You all say you care about the future and its efficiency, but actions speak louder than words,” Spivey said.
“Commissioner Fitz Johnson, why did you approve this?”
Chairman Commissioner Jason Shaw spoke for Johnson and said, “We’re not giving comments at this time.”
Earlier in the hearing, Pridemore said the opposite.
“This time for public testimony is to engage with the public, so I would appreciate it if you would allow commissioners to engage with you and ask questions.”
Commissioner Tim Echols eagerly interjected and gave his reason.
“The wood is going to get burned either way,” he said. “Do you want it burning in a pile out in the field or burning in a boiler with a scrubber?”
Spivey asked Pridemore, who was the lone “no” vote in the 4-1 vote for biomass, why she voted that way. Unlike Johnson, she responded. But did not answer the question and instead questioned whether Spivey was a football player for the Dallas Cowboys from 1972 to 1976.
Pridemore’s questioning came after the opening moments of Spivey’s comment, when Echols asked if he played for the Cowboys and Spivey said yes, listing those years.
“I don’t have to speak to my previous votes, orders stand on their own right, and the exercises within the orders speak for themselves,” Pridemore said. “That’s how commissioners speak. I do have a question about your football record though, because the NFL database doesn’t show you as a member of the Dallas Cowboys (in those years).”
While Spivey was not identifiable in widely-available online rosters from the 1970s Cowboys teams, a Dallas Cowboys 1976 media guide shows he was on the team’s rookie roster that year, and archives from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram show he was cut that summer.
Spivey and those in the hearing room weren’t able to make out what Pridemore said over the video call, so he couldn’t address what she said.
On Tuesday, during the second day of hearings, Georgia native Rob Wilkey made a public comment because he wanted to understand why Georgia isn’t expanding solar further.
“It’s irresponsible not to incentivize utility-scale solar,” he said during the hearing. “Expanding fossil fuel burning infrastructure is dramatically irresponsible.”
He also said Echols was wrong to ask a nurse practitioner and pediatrician during Monday’s hearings about whether asthma could be from secondhand smoke, rather than coal or gas plants, as he insinuated.
Wilkey said he watched the hearings Monday and was stunned to see Pridemore ask Spivey about his experience in pro football.
“Commissioner Pridemore’s actions and behavior are really unbecoming of her position,” he told the Ledger-Enquirer. “I was shocked that someone could behave like that in a position like that, and antagonize people who are just coming to, you know, make public comment.”
During the final seconds of his public comment, he told Pridemore it was indecorous to accuse Spivey of lying about his career and said she owed him an apology.
“He’s not on the roster. Just check the internet,” she said.
Shaw spoke up and said he didn’t think either Spivey or Pridemore were lying.
Pridemore then accused Wilkey of getting paid to come to the hearing to agitate.
“You guys that get paid to come in here and agitate, you think it’s cute? Well, the rest of us are trying to keep the lights on for the state of Georgia and our country,” Pridemore said. “You guys think it’s a game? And it’s not. And it’s sad.”
Wilkey told the Ledger-Enquirer he was “shocked by her outburst” and “thought it was inappropriate.” He also said he does not get paid to make public comment. He isn’t an activist and did this on his own accord.
In fact, he lost money for paying $7 for parking and the gas to drive in.
“For her to insinuate that we’re paid when it’s actually losing money to come and make comments like that is just incredibly insulting,” Wilkey said.
Lisa Coronado, who frequently attends Georgia Power Integrated Resource Plan public hearings, comments about the issues of the climate crisis. She spent three minutes going into the details of what climate scientists are suggesting be done to lessen the worsening effects.
“You need to listen to the climate scientists, which you are not taking into consideration right now,” Coronado said. “Stop pointing fingers at other countries.”
Coronado’s comments came after Pridemore suggested China look into their greenhouse gas emissions in previous statements.
“They emit more greenhouse gases than any country,” Pridemore said back to Coronado. “As 93% of solar parts and pieces are still manufactured in China, you ask us to be able to buy their materials, which are being produced off of coal power…We continue as a country and as a state to make reductions. We’re home of the largest clean energy plant in the country. We are number four in solar… I stand by what I said and I feel the need to defend myself as you continue to call me out.”
Pridemore told the Ledger-Enquirer via email that the Georgia Public Service Commission does not “regulate, set policy or oversee/manage/research or have anything to do with climate.”
Echols also had responses and rebuttals to public commenters during Monday and Tuesday’s hearings.
Earlier in Tuesday’s hearing, Echols asked nurse practitioner Jennifer Ratcliff, who lives in Roswell, what she thinks of the health care system after she spent three minutes talking about issues with fossil fuel and public health-related issues.
“Commissioners are free to ask questions to any witness, public or corporate, at any hearing, but time often does not allow,” he said via email. “I love personally engaging with people who come to the Commission.”
Echols has invited individuals who have given public comments to speak on his podcast, “Energy Matters,” to carry on the discourse on the issues.
She responded to Echols, saying, “I don’t know the ins and outs of health care and also think it’s exceedingly expensive, for those of us that can afford it, and a lot cannot afford it, and the same is true of electricity.”
On Monday, he responded to a pediatrician’s comments by suggesting they talk with Atlanta’s MARTA to understand how helpful switching from diesel to natural gas ended up being better for air quality.
This story was originally published June 26, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Georgia Power hearing heats up with accusations about climate, donations."
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to clarify the location of Park Ave Baptist and clarify comments from Tim Echols.
