Democratic challenger defeats longtime Georgia PSC member. What to know
Democratic challenger Alicia Johnson has won a seat on Georgia’s Public Service Commission, defeating Republican Tim Echols in District 2, according to results from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.
With all 159 Georgia counties reporting, Johnson had more than 900,000 ballots cast for her and held about 62% of the vote, according to the Secretary of State’s office. Echols, who has served on the PSC for 15 years, had over 550,000 votes.
Echols announced earlier Tuesday night that it was unlikely he’d be able to overcome the election lead Johnson was holding over him as votes were being tallied in the hours after polls closed.
He later congratulated Johnson on LinkedIn.
“Congratulations to Dr. Alicia Johnson for her well-fought victory tonight. I pray your experience on the PSC will be as meaningful as mine. Godspeed to you,” Echols posted.
Peter Hubbard, the Democratic candidate for PSC District 3, also secured a win over his opponent, making it two wins for Democrats on the commission.
When the two are sworn in on Jan. 1, it will be the first time in 22 years that a Democrat will hold a seat on Georgia’s PSC, which regulates energy companies across the state. Johnson issued a statement Tuesday in celebration.
“This victory isn’t just mine, it’s ours; It’s for the single mother choosing between groceries and her power bill, the senior trying to keep the lights on, and the young voter who showed up believing that their voice matters,” Johnson said in a statement.
“Now, the real work begins. I’m going to the Public Service Commission to ensure that every Georgian has a voice at the table, to lower costs, modernize our grid, and make energy policy that works for the people, not just the powerful.”
The Public Service Commission regulates energy companies, such as Georgia Power and telecommunications and other services. In this election cycle, candidates and Georgians have spoken frequently about high Georgia Power bills and concerns that the PSC doesn’t pay enough attention to the wishes of constituents who seek more renewable energy use.
Charles Hua, the executive director of Powerlines, which is a nonpartisan organization that focuses on modernizing utility regulation to lower bills and grow the economy, called the Democrats’ wins a “seismic change.”
“The election of two new Public Service Commissioners represents a seismic change in Georgia’s energy landscape and reflects a new politics of electricity in America,” he wrote to the Ledger-Enquirer. “Consumers sent a clear message: they are paying attention and will hold public officials accountable for decisions that impact their utility bills.”
Johnson is a managing principal at Health Management Associates, a health care research consulting firm in Savannah who ran on a campaign for Georgians to have accountable, reliable and affordable energy and change rising energy costs. She is a staunch supporter of using more renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.
Johnson had support and endorsements from Democratic Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, the Georgia Democratic Party, Georgia Conservation Voters, the Georgia Working Family Party, Climate Cabinet, the Jane Fonda Climate PAC, Lead Locally, the Sierra Club, and the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund.
Echols has been in his position as the District 2 commissioner since 2010. He ran a campaign embracing energy reliability, which for him meant using fossil fuels to power some of the 2.7 million Georgia Power customer homes and businesses around the state.
“Fossil plants are absolutely critical to our reliability, and we can’t allow anyone to take the helm of the Public Service Commission and shut these things down,” he said at a campaign rally in Forsyth County last month.
Political exchanges on the campaign trail
Echols called Alicia Johnson a “DEI candidate” who will bring “DEI and wokeness to the PSC,” at the same rally.
Johnson responded to these claims, telling the Ledger-Enquirer she wouldn’t be distracted or intimidated by Echols’ remarks and called Echols a “rubber stamp for Georgia Power, not a regulator.”
Echols, who also supports clean energy such as solar and battery storage, touted his rooftop solar panels and the fact that he drives an electric vehicle, while simultaneously supporting non-renewables like wood-burning biomass. He received criticism for approving Georgia Power rate requests in all six power plan rate cases over the past 15 years and more recently extended coal plant operations.
Critics, including Hua, say this has resulted in a significant jump in bills for Georgia Power customers over the last several years.
“In Georgia, utility bills have increased 33% over the last two years,” Hua said.
But in July, the current commission voted to freeze the rates for the next three years, which Gov. Brian Kemp touted at the October rally.
“No one else is doing anything like this in the country,” Kemp said at the rally.
Echols had the largest amount of campaign funds to work with of the four candidates running for the PSC this year (including the two candidates running in District 3), with more than $470,000, according to reporting from The Current. Johnson received the lowest of the four at $79,000.
This story was originally published November 4, 2025 at 8:53 PM with the headline "Democratic challenger defeats longtime Georgia PSC member. What to know."
