Fresh Loaf

Jim Powell, the Democrat who last year went through hell in his campaign for Georgia Public Service Commission, is on environmental news service Greenwire’s shortlist for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 4 administrator job.

Region 4, Atlanta

Territory: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and six tribes.

Issues: Oversight of coal-fired power plants and coal-ash dumps. Of 44 coal-ash impoundment sites determined by the Obama administration to be high-hazard sites, 20 of them are this region. Wetlands protection is also a top issue, since the region includes Gulf Coast marshes and the Everglades.

Possible picks: Acting Region 4 Administrator Stanley Meiburg; acting Deputy Administrator Beverly Banister; Russell Wright, assistant administrator of Region 4’s Office of Policy and Management; John Hankinson, former Region 4 administrator in the Clinton administration; and Jim Powell, a former senior official with the Energy Department who retired in 2007.

Powell slogged through the state’s legal system in a residency challenge from Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel, ultimately winning in state Supreme Court. Republican Lauren “Bubba” McDonald beat Powell in a runoff to replace Angela Speir.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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State Sen. Don Balfour, R-Snellville, opposes a proposed Gwinnett County tax hike, arguing that an economic downturn is not the time to raise taxes. But, during the recent General Assembly, he successfully pushed legislation to start billing Georgians next year for two nuclear reactors that won’t be completed until 2017.

“A tax increase … amounts to more financial strain on the taxpayer. People do not have the ability to pay more for government services right now.”
—    Balfour, from a June 11 AJC op-ed

“If we pay for the interest now, we’re saving money.”
—    Balfour, as quoted in the AJC Jan. 16, defending his plan to bill Georgia Power ratepayers upfront for the nukes

“The pre-payments would force current customers to subsidize future customers. … It is real money that they must pay years before it would otherwise be due.”
—    From the Feb. 6 report on Balfour’s bill by the Public Service Commission staff

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Georgia Trend magazine this month bestowed Georgia Power CEO Mike Garrett with the title “Most Respected Georgia Businessman.”

You think it’d be a fluff piece. But Garrett’s profile — which in the print edition is bordered by sycophantic ads hilariously congratulating the CORPORATE TITAN for this monumental achievement — is actually eye-opening.

Georgia Trend editor Susan Percy provides some additional details on the utility’s strong-arm effort to pass Senate Bill 31 during the most recent legislative session. That bill, which was recently signed by Gov. Sonny Perdue, allows Georgia Power to charge ratepayers in advance for the financing costs on two new proposed reactors at Plant Vogtle. It was widely lambasted. But bad ideas under the Gold Dome have a way of growing legs and becoming law.

Percy’s one of the first journalists we’ve seen to ask Garrett on the record about the controversial legislation — as well as the steamrollin’ way the bill was shoved down lawmakers’ throats.

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There must be something in the ventilation system over at the Public Service Commission that’s making those folks more than usually loopy. Yesterday, the PSC voted 3-2 to elect Commissioner Stan Wise as board chairman for a two-year term. There’s just one problem with this maneuver: It’s illegal as hell.

Bobby Baker

And it’s not as if PSC members can claim to be unaware of the law that mandates how chairmen are selected, because they tried to get the law changed during the recent General Assembly. That attempt failed; it appears this is their back-up plan.

Since 1992, Georgia law has called for the PSC chairmanship to rotate on an annual basis. Legislation sponsored by Rep. Don Parsons, R-Marietta, (but reportedly written by newly elected Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald) would have allowed the board to elect its own chairman for a three-year term. The bill passed the House, but stalled in the Senate.

As reported by the increasingly invaluable Atlanta Unfiltered, current PSC Chairman Doug Everett announced Monday that he was resigning from that post as of July 1. He then made a motion nominating Wise as chairman for the next two years, with McDonald to serve as vice-chairman. The motion passed 3-2, with members Chuck Eaton and Bobby Baker voting against it. Eaton has written a letter asking Attorney General Thurbert Baker to weigh in on the matter.

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Plant Vogtle

The Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation and its president John Sherman filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Fulton County Superior Court over Senate Bill 31, a controversial piece of legislation that allows Georgia Power to begin charging customers in advance for two new proposed nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle.

The lawsuit names the Georgia Public Service Commission, the quasi-judicial state agency that decides how much you pay for your electricity, and Gov. Sonny Perdue, who signed the bill on April 21, as defendants.

During the legislative session, a diverse group of critics called the bill unfair because some industrial customers are exempt from the rate hike. They also said the issue belonged in the Georgia Public Service Commission, where a full-time staff examines and studies the complicated issue of nuclear financing. Georgia Power hired more than 70 lobbyists the push the bill.

In court documents, the foundation’s attorney John Woodham — the lone-wolf barrister who successfully fought the Beltline’s main funding mechanism all the way to Georgia Supreme Court — calls the bill unconstitutional on numerous grounds.

View the 53-page lawsuit here (PDF). It’s a long and complicated read for those not learned in the language of legalese. But it lays the groundwork of what’s sure to be an interesting battle over one of the past legislative session’s most controversial issues.

(Courtesy Nuclear Regulatory Commission)

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Georgia’s newest Public Service Commissioner, Lauren McDonald — better known to his longtime fans and followers as “Bubba” — is already facing up to $25,000 in fines by the State Ethics Commission related to shoddy record-keeping during his losing 2002 campaign to keep his seat on the PSC.

Now, former AJC investigative editor Jim Walls reports on his Atlanta Unfiltered blog that McDonald may also have some problems with his filings during last year’s PSC race to regain his old seat, specifically a $15,000 campaign loan of uncertain origin.

What makes all of this more than usually ironic is that McDonald had been working behind the scenes to change the rules for how the PSC chairmanship is determined, presumably so Bubba could ascend to that position. Currently, the five commissioners take turns serving as chairman, based on a regular annual rotation.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Georgia Public Service Commissioner Stan Wise told Congress today that the state lacked sufficient wind, solar and biomass potential — which means it’s unable to meet proposed renewable energy standards.

Not so, says Stephen Smith, the executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. After hearing the commissioner’s testimony, Smith said Wise — who has been accused before of being too close to the utilities he regulates — was “doing the bidding of Southern power companies” and singing the same ole song when it comes to Georgia’s energy potential. Smith also takes issue with U.S. Congressman John Barrow’s claim that Georgia doesn’t have enough trees for a robust biomass program.

Smith’s full statement, with links to research included, is after the jump.

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WHITE ELEPHANTS Senate Bill 31 would provide safety net for Georgia Power

In 1974, Georgia Power broke ground on nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta, embarking on a nuclear odyssey that would nearly bankrupt the company.

Almost 15 years later — and after several delays and environmental hurdles— the project’s construction costs ballooned from $680 million to a staggering $8.4 billion. And it wasn’t until then that Georgia Power could begin to recoup the cost from ratepayers.

Now, as the state’s largest utility moves forward on two new reactors at Plant Vogtle estimated at $6.4 billion, the first in nearly 30 years, the company wants to cover its assets — and it’s enlisted the assistance of a phalanx of lobbyists and a controversial legislative plan of attack.

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Georgia voters have never gotten terribly excited over our Public Service Commission elections, partly because the issues involved — franchise agreements, amortization schedules, telecommunication service areas — are often so complex that few people understand them. But that’s why we elect these folks, to six-year terms, no less: to make difficult decisions about very complicated matters involving huge utilities.

Plant Vogtle near Augusta

That’s why no one I’ve talked to can figure out why the Senate is handling legislation to enact a fundamental change in the way Georgia Power bills its customers — meaning all of us. Sponsored by Rules Committee chairman Don Balfour, R-Duluth, SB 31 motored through committee Wednesday, even though some of his fellow Republicans indicated they didn’t completely grasp what it would do.

So, what would it do? Put simply, it would require Georgia Power customers — again, you and me — to begin paying for two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle as they’re being built. This is a huge departure from how the billing process has worked in past decades. For all previous projects:

1. The utility gets approval for a capitol project from the PSC
2. The utility builds the capitol project on its own dime
3. The utility raises our rates to recoup its investment

This process has worked fairly well so far. Now, however, Georgia Power is pushing to get its money up front. I suppose you can’t blame ‘em; Vogtle’s two original reactors nearly bankrupted the company. Construction began in 1974, but endless delays caused by numerous redesigns and shifting federal regulations meant the plant didn’t go into operation until 1989. Costs ballooned from a projected $680 million to a staggering $8.4 billion — money the company couldn’t begin to recoup for a solid 15 years until the project was completed. (more…)

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The Georgia Public Service Commission, the quasi-judicial state agency that determines how much you pay to turn on your lights and heat up your oven, will hold hearings next week to discuss two proposed nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle, an power-generation plant near Augusta owned mostly by Georgia Power and Dalton Utilities.

From the PSC:

The Georgia Public Service Commission will continue its hearings on the Georgia Power Co. request seeking commission certification of two new nuclear power generation units at Plant Vogtle at 10 a.m. on Monday, January 12, 2009. The meeting will take place in Room 110 at 244 Washington Street, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia.

The hearings will continue at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 through Friday, January 16, 2009 if necessary, with the Commission Public Interest Advisory Staff and other intervenors presenting testimony and evidence in support of their positions. The January 15, 2009 hearing will begin at 1:30 p.m. The Public Interest Advisory Staff in their pre-filed testimony of December 19, 2008, recommended approval of the certificate based on Georgia Power’s acceptance of certain financial conditions recommended by other Staff witnesses.

On Feb. 9, Georgia Power will have four days to argue its case in front of the five-member commission. Briefs and proposed orders are due to PSC on March 6. On March 17, the commission is scheduled to issue its decision.

An audio webcast of the hearings can be heard on the commission’s site under “Audio Broadcast Link.” More information about Georgia Power’s request is available on the PSC’s site under Docket Number 27800.

(Photo courtesy of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission)

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Georgia Public Service Commissioner Angela Speir, who opted not to run for another term on the state agency that regulates utilities and telecommunication in the state, will join consumer watchdog group Georgia Watch as its deputy director in January.

“I am honored to become the deputy director of Georgia Watch, our state’s leading consumer watchdog organization,” Speir said in a press release. “It has been a blessing to serve the people of Georgia on the Public Service Commission for the past six years. I worked hard to represent Georgians on the commission and I will continue to be a hardworking advocate for Georgians at Georgia Watch.”

Speir will also launch the group’s Consumer Energy program. She’ll serve as senior program director on that initiative.

According to a press release, the Consumer Energy program will:

analyze and develop positions on legislative and regulatory proposals that affect utility pricing, energy efficiency and renewable energy. The program will also work to raise awareness of the functions of the Public Service Commission (PSC), to increase public access to the PSC, and to encourage public involvement in important legislative and regulatory decisions that affect energy cost and availability.

During her six-year term, Speir has been heralded as a consumer advocate and a voice for Georgians. She was the first woman elected to the PSC. Her notable work includes banning private communications between commissioners and the industries they regulate.

“Ultimately, our goal with this newest Georgia Watch program is to establish a credible consumer voice in Georgia on energy cost, efficiency and conservation issues,” Georgia Watch Executive Director Allison Wall said. “There is no more knowledgeable and respected advocate to shape and direct this program than former PSC Commissioner Angela Speir.”

Speir’s spot on the commission will be filled by Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, the Democrat-turned-Republican she unseated in a surprising 2002 election. McDonald defeated Democratic opponent Jim Powell, a first-time political candidate who fought a residency challenge all the way to state Supreme Court, in the Dec. 2 runoff election.

UPDATE: The AJC’s Margaret Newkirk attended Speir’s final meeting as a commissioner and paints a really beautiful scene of the moment.

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Subscription-based news service Insider Advantage has time traveled back to the present after a heady trip to tomorrowland. Upon exiting its gullwinged timemachine, the site called the U.S. Senate race for incumbent Saxby Chambliss.

Note the time:

BULLETIN

6:30 p.m.

(12/2/08) Based on our early evaluation of turnout in the Georgia runoff, it appears Republicans have successfully defended Saxby Chambliss’ U.S. Senate seat against Democrat Jim Martin. The four-week campaign focused national attention on the Peach State and brought John McCain, Sarah Palin, Bill Clinton and Al Gore to the state to help their parties’ respective candidates drive up turnout. Barack Obama cut an ad and a robo-call tape for Martin but didn’t risk his prestige on the race through a personal appearance.

As I write this, both the U.S. Senate and Public Service Commission races show Republicans leading 60-40. Results from Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton Counties are just now rolling in.

(DeLorean photo from Newsgroper)

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Georgia Public Service Commission Democratic candidate Jim Powell — who faces Republican Lauren “Bubba” McDonald in the Dec. 2 runoff — has a new online-only ad up on YouTube. (If YouTube ain’t your thang, Grift has it on Vimeo.)

Gotta love the floating “Bubba” heads coming out of smokestacks.

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Former President Jimmy Carter yesterday endorsed Democrat Jim Powell in his Georgia Public Service Commission runoff against Republican candidate Lauren “Bubba” McDonald.

“I am impressed with Jim Powell’s knowledge of the issues that will be addressed by the Georgia Public Service Commission in the coming years,” President Carter said. “His vision of energy policy for our state reflects the forward-thinking approach we need, both in the near future and in the long term.

“With Jim Powell, the people of Georgia have a unique opportunity to elect a Public Service Commissioner with solid professional experience for this important position. I support Jim Powell in the December 2 runoff election.”

President Carter made the endorsement following a meeting with the candidate Thursday afternoon at the Carter Center.

“I am most honored to have the support of this great Georgian and American, President Jimmy Carter,” Powell said. “During his term in the White House, President Carter foresaw the importance of managing our energy resources and established the U.S. Department of Energy. He understands what is at stake in this election, and I am humbled that he would endorse my candidacy.”

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STAR POWER Former president stumps for U.S. Senate Democratic candidate Martin

In the quickening cold on Wednesday evening, Augustine Smith, a wide-grinning middle-aged man from Duluth by way of West Africa, leaned against a railing in the crowded Arnett Quadrangle at Clark Atlanta University, Barack Obama hat perched atop his head, and waited for the man many of these people came out to see.

Not U.S. Senate Democratic nominee Jim Martin, although the event was in his honor and Smith said he’d vote for the former state lawmaker again, but former President Bill Clinton. The president had visited Atlanta to stump for Martin in his runoff race against incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss before zipping off to a local fundraiser.

“This country does not need to build a firewall,” Clinton told the energetic crowd of 1,500 people, referring to how Chambliss has described his role in a Democrat-controlled Senate under Pres.-elect Barack Obama. “It needs to build a bridge to the future. Martin’s the bridge, Chambliss is the firewall.”

Clinton repeated this mantra over and over as he attempted to enthuse supporters to do what Republicans know best and Democrats have historically proven unable — the tricky task of getting the voters back to the polls in a runoff.

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Just two weeks before the Dec. 2 runoff, the Georgia Conservation Voters’ political action committee has slammed Georgia Public Service Commission Republican nominee Lauren “Bubba” McDonald on a website called “The Truth About Bubba.”

The site brands McDonald as a “special interest puppet” who consistently voted in favor of industries — the same ones who’ve contributed “hundreds of thousands of dollars” to his campaigns — when he previously served on the commission. The site includes specific instances where it says McDonald pushed for helping out the utilities more than Georgians.

“Having Bubba McDonald serve on the Public Service Commission is like letting the fox guard the hen house,” says Chris Osborne, Executive Director of Georgia Conservation Voters. “During his tenure holding public office, Bubba McDonald has proven to be nothing more than a puppet of the special interests. He has consistently voted against middle class ratepayers in favor of his campaign donors.”

McDonald is running against Democratic candidate Jim Powell. CL endorsed Powell in its General Election issue.

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Public Service Commission Republican nominee Lauren “Bubba” McDonald just can’t seem to catch a break.

After a narrow July 15 primary win over energy consultant Pam Davidson and a nail-bitin’ General Election that must be decided in a Dec. 2 runoff, McDonald now has to attend a big-name fundraiser at Atlanta law firm Hall Booth Smith & Slover. The invitation promises the Bubba we know so well will do outlandish and wacky things if he gets elected. Like pursue renewable energy! The gall of these political patrons!

From a fundraiser invitation slipped to us by a tipster:

Friends,

I know this election season has been very, very long and folks have gotten inundated with calls, letters, emails, etc., but I’d like to reach out to y’all for this run-off race which will be watched all over the country and urge you to get back out and vote for Saxby and Bubba on Dec. 2nd or by Early or Absentee ballot. A Saxby win will allow the Republicans to at least have a voice in Washington DC and a Bubba win will be bring us one step closer to Energy Independence with his focus on biomass, clean coal, and nuclear energy.

On behalf of the Governor, Lt. Governor, Speaker, the Republican members of the Public Service Commission, Sen. David Shafer (Chairman of the Senate Regulated Industries & Utilities Committee), Rep. Mike Jacobs, and our terrific Host Committee, I would like to invite you to the following Reception (please print the attached .pdf invitation for directions and campaign contribution info):

Please join Governor Sonny Perdue, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, Speaker Glenn Richardson, Chmn. Chuck Eaton, Comm. Stan Wise, Comm. Doug Everett, Sen. David Shafer, and the members of the Host Committee at a Campaign Fundraiser for Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, Jr.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2008
5:00 PM — 7:00 PM

AT THE OFFICES OF

Hall Booth Smith & Slover
1180 West Peachtree Street NW
Atlantic Center Plaza, Suite 900
Atlanta, GA 30309

Please RSVP to [redacted] at [redacted] or [redacted] by Monday, November 17, 2008

- [redacted]

Let it be noted that McDonald’s campaign contribution list reads like a summit gathering of powerful utility lobbyists and lawyers. Biomass was — and still is — one of the issues Jim Powell, a 35-year veteran of the U.S. Department of Energy and McDonald’s Democratic opponent in the  runoff, has pushed the hardest.

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Usually the Libertarians end up siding with Republicans. Not so in the Public Service Commission Dec. 2 runoff between Republican Lauren “Bubba” McDonald and Democratic nominee Jim Powell.

Brandon Givens, the Libertarian challenger for the seat who received the strongest showing by a third-party candidate in the Nov. 4 General Election, has announced his endorsement for Powell in the Dec. 2 runoff.

From the Powell campaign:

“After speaking with Mr. Jim Powell I’ve discovered that he too has the vision for a new system that would allow for both a free market in energy and a growth in green technology,” Givens said in a news release. “Mr. Powell also shares my strong opposition to ex parte communications, the behind-closed-doors dealings between PSC members and the industries they are charged with regulating. He will stand up for transparency in government. I strongly encourage all voters, Libertarian and fiscally conservative to vote for Jim Powell.”

…

“I congratulate Brandon Givens on the strong race that he ran and bringing attention to many of the important issues in this campaign,” Powell said. “I am honored to have his support in the runoff election.”

Powell has also been endorsed by incumbent Public Service Commissioner Angela Speir, former Republican candidate Pam Davidson, and four of the state’s major daily newspapers: the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Savannah Morning News. the Rome News-Tribune and the Waycross Journal-Herald.

Powell won the popular vote in both the Democratic primary and the Nov. 4 General Election. He also fought a long and tiresome battle with Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel over his residency. Just one week before the General Election, the state Supreme Court  ruled he was eligible to run.

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The state Supreme Court unanimously ruled today that Public Service Commission Democratic nominee Jim Powell can stay on the ballot.

UPDATE: Grift has some discussion on his site about the ruling, plus the actual opinion. You can also download it here.

Here is the release from the court:

STATE SUPREME COURT AFFIRMS POWELL’S RUN FOR PSC

Atlanta, Oct. 30, 2008 – The Supreme Court of Georgia today upheld James R. Powell’s right to run in Tuesday’s election for a seat on the Public Service Commission.

Secretary of State Karen Handel had appealed a Fulton County Superior Court ruling that sided with Powell and overturned her decision finding Powell ineligible to run based on where he lived. In June 2008, Handel first challenged Powell’s qualifications a month after he filed his intent to run as a Democrat against Republican Lauren McDonald for the PSC District 4 post. She argued that a homestead exemption Powell had on his Cobb County property established an irrefutable presumption of legal residence and proved Powell did not live in the North Georgia district he seeks to represent. In her appeal, Handel argued that under state law, the trial court should have given deference to her interpretation of the law on residency that she is in charge of enforcing.

But in today’s unanimous decision, written by Justice Robert Benham, the Supreme Court disagrees. “It is the role of the judicial branch to interpret the statutes enacted by the legislative branch and enforced by the executive branch…, and administrative rulings will be adopted only when they conform to the meaning which the court deems should properly be given,” 8-page opinion says. The facts of the case are not in dispute, merely the interpretation of the law, the opinion points out.

In 2006, Powell purchased a second home in Towns County, which is in District 4. In 2007, he attempted unsuccessfully to transfer his homestead exemption from Cobb to Towns County, but he missed the filing deadline. Evidence shows Powell spends more than 60 percent of his time in Towns County, where he has voted three times, attends church and pays taxes.

The residency law, which is Section 21-2-217 in the Official Code of Georgia, lists 15 rules for determining a candidate’s legal residence. At least seven apply to Powell, the Supreme Court has found, “but the Secretary’s decision did not take into account any of the applicable rules other than the homestead exemption rule.”

“We agree with the superior court that the Secretary committed an error of law that authorizes reversal of the Secretary’s decision,” today’s opinion says.

More to come.

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U.S. Senate Democratic nominee Jim Martin is touring Georgia in a final push to convince undecided voters. Today, Martin and Public Service Commission Democratic nominee Jim Powell make several stops during the former state lawmaker’s “Road to Change” bus tour.

After the jump, the full list of stops.

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For you political junkies out there **cough**Grift, sara**cough**, here’s the state Supreme Court case summary of the Jim Powell and Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel residency slugfest. These excellent write-ups are penned by Jane Hansen, the court’s public information officer. She’s a former AJC reporter and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Monday, October 20, 2008

10:00 A.M. Session

HANDEL V. POWELL (S09A0074)

This appeal stems from a dispute between Secretary of State Karen Handel and James R. Powell, who is running for a seat on the Public Service Commission. Handel is appealing a Fulton County Superior Court ruling that sided with Powell, overturning Handel’s decision that Powell was ineligible to run based on his residency. The Supreme Court agreed to expedite oral arguments in the case.

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A source sends word that the Georgia Supreme Court will hear arguments in the Jim Powell residency kerfuffle on Monday, Oct. 20 at 10 a.m.

Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel started fighting Powell — the Democratic nominee for the Public Service Commission’s Northern District — shortly before the primary. Even with that cloud hanging over the race, Powell still walked away with 85 percent of the vote. The nominee’s had a tough time raising funds and campaigning because of the legal challenges, but he’s pushed on regardless. (To read CL’s coverage, click here.) No telling if the justices will issue a ruling before the Nov. 4 General Election.

Powell faces Republican nominee Lauren “Bubba” McDonald and Libertarian Party nominee Brandon Givens.

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Write the correct name of the office you seek.

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Jason Pye of Peach Pundit reports the residency of Public Service Commissioner Doug Everett has been questioned by Libertarian Party nominee John Monds, the lone challenger in his re-election bid.

Pye writes:

The complaint alleges that Everett lives in Clarkesville and Atlanta, but not at any of the addresses provided in official filings to the State Ethics Commission.

The Atlanta residence is rented, though paid for with campaign funds since 2006. The home in Albany that Everett has used in filings is actually owned by his son, Michael C. Everett. A homestead exemption has been filed to this effect as well.

Monds writes, “It is very reasonable to ask Mr. Everett to come forward and provide evidence of his residency. I ask that you use all means within your power to expeditiously resolve any questions that exist concerning this matter.”

As Pye notes, it may be too late to file a residency challenge.

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It continues.

Yes, and that “Lauren W. McDonald III?” He’s the son of Bubba McDonald, the former state lawmaker who’s running as a Republican for the Public Service Commission.

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