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Georgia Recorder: Georgia Public Service Commission race will be settled by June runoff
The field of candidates to fill an open seat on the state Public Service Commission dwindled after Tuesday’s primary elections.
Only the District 5 Republican primary is heading into a runoff, while voters will likely see a rematch of last year’s District 3 race between a current commissioner and a former commissioner after former Commissioner Fitz Johnson appeared to narrowly win the GOP primary.
The commission, a state board that regulates Georgia’s major utilities, including Georgia Power, whose decisions directly impact residential energy bills, used to be largely overlooked but has recently been under scrutiny for approving several energy bill increases over two years that resulted in about $500 increase per year for the average household.
Ledger-Enquirer: GA Public Service Commission races: latest updated results in 2026 primary elections
The field of candidates to fill an open seat on the state Public Service Commission dwindled after Tuesday’s primary elections.
Only the District 5 Republican primary is heading into a runoff, while voters will likely see a rematch of last year’s District 3 race between a current commissioner and a former commissioner after former Commissioner Fitz Johnson appeared to narrowly win the GOP primary.
The commission, a state board that regulates Georgia’s major utilities, including Georgia Power, whose decisions directly impact residential energy bills, used to be largely overlooked but has recently been under scrutiny for approving several energy bill increases over two years that resulted in about $500 increase per year for the average household.
AJC: Shelia Edwards wins Democratic PSC primary as GOP contest heads to runoff
Out of four races, there were three stunning wins and one runoff for the Georgia Public Service Commission in the 2026 primary election. Republicans were split on who their nominee should be for the district 3 seat to face incumbent Democrat Peter Hubbard in November. Former Public Service Commissioner Fitz Johnson narrowly won against Brandon Martin, by just 2,948 votes. Final results show Johnson with 50.1% of votes with 389,416 and Martin with 49.8% with 368,468. Fitz will face off against incumbent Hubbard, who Tuesday night, despite no opponent received 942,784 votes. Hubbard won handily last November against then-incumbent Johnson.
Grist: Energy bills keep rising. These candidates in Georgia say they can help.
Ten candidates are vying for two seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission in the May 19 primary. Early voting is already underway.
The commission oversees utilities, including telecommunications, natural gas, and electricity, and has final say over how Georgia Power, the state’s largest electric utility, makes energy and what it charges customers. This gives commissioners substantial power over Georgians’ energy bills and the state’s climate future, because burning fossil fuels to make electricity is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. By the PSC’s own description, “very few governmental agencies have as much impact on peoples’ lives as the PSC.”
MDJ AROUND TOWN: ‘Not acting like conservative Republicans’: Albers slams GOP PSC over power rates
Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, recently rebuked Republican members of the Public Service Commission, accusing them of “not acting like conservative Republicans” by approving multiple power rate hikes.
The remarks were made at Saturday’s Cobb GOP breakfast when Josh Tolbert, an engineer running for a seat on the PSC, asked a panel of Republican legislators if there were any measures being taken to reduce power rates.
“I think that evidence from the Public Service Commission results in November show that part of affordability, energy prices are a big factor in what people are looking at,” Tolbert said. “Are there any legislative measures that you guys are looking at to reduce power rates? I know there’s some bills put forth about not letting data center costs fall on the rate payer.”...
Ledger-Enquirer: Who’s running for Georgia Public Service Commission? 9 candidates break record
The race for two Georgia Public Service Commission seats in the 2026 election has officially begun. Friday was the last day to qualify for District 3 and District 5 among the five commission seats. The Georgia PSC regulates energy needs throughout the state including telecom and gas services. Most notably, they regulate the energy company Georgia Power, which must ask the commission to approve what they want to charge ratepayers, how they source their energy and by when they need it...
