Opinion: GA Public Service Commissioner says state consistently increases renewable energy

Editor’s note: Longtime Georgia Public Service Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald wrote this op-ed in response to a recent story published by the Ledger-Enquirer and The Telegraph. That story can be read here.

I read the article titled “Hundreds pleaded for less fossil fuels in Georgia Power’s energy plans. Why no change?” that ran in your publication on February 5 and was compelled to respond. The article included incorrect statements about the Georgia Public Service Commission’s actions (including the statement in the headline that there has been “no change”). The Public Service Commission has, in fact, added more renewable energy to every Integrated Resource Plan since 2013.

The main thrust of the article incorrectly suggests that Commissioners do not abide by constituents’ desires and that we, instead, rubber stamp plans made by Georgia Power. Rather than me, an elected official, trying to defend myself and my fellow Commissioners, I would rather quote the Public Service Commission’s Utilities Director, Tom Bond. Mr. Bond has worked in energy regulation as a non-partisan staffer for more than 25 years. After reading your article, Mr. Bond sent an unsolicited email to Commissioners, that said:

“The article and the ‘yes’ vote chart are certainly misleading. They make it sound like the Commission simply rubber stamps Georgia Power’s proposed IRP plans.

In fact, the opposite is true. The Commission has never approved a Georgia Power IRP plan as filed. In every IRP, the Commission has adopted its own plan for Georgia Power.

It was the Commission, not Georgia Power, that started adding utility scale solar to the IRP over a decade ago. And since then, the Commission has consistently added more renewables to the final Plan than the Company proposed. It was the Commission that created the DSM (Demand Side Management) working group in an IRP order and the Commission has routinely added more DSM and Energy Efficiency than the Company proposed. The Commission has also routinely required that more resources be procured through competitive solicitations than the Company’s plans proposed, using competitive processes to lower the costs to ratepayers.”

Lauren “Bubba” McDonald served as a state representative for 20 years before he was appointed to the Public Service Commission in 1998 and won a special election to serve the remainder of the term. He was subsequently elected to the position in 2008, 2014 and 2020.