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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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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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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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Democratic Public Service Commission candidate Jim Powell is running almost even with Republican Lauren McDonald. This wasn’t unexpected, but Powell’s results are impressive considering all these obstacles he’s had to overcome.

With 96 percent of precincts reporting, Powell is running a percentage point ahead of Barack Obama and Democratic Senate candidate Jim Martin. He’s at 47.3 percent, just half a point behind McDonald. That lead seems likely to close, because the votes that remain to be counted are likely to lean Democratic. (more…)

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When Commissioner Angela Speir announced she would seek other opportunities after her term on the Public Service Commission ends and not seek re-election, it sent a sigh of chagrin throughout the public-interest community.

“I think we’re losing a good one when she steps away,” says Bill Bozarth of Common Cause, a nonprofit group that focuses on fairness and accountability in government practices and who recently recognized Speir for her work. “She shows what one who is elected to such a position can do, which is act as a buffer between a regulated body [like a utility] — a sanctioned monopoly, of sorts — and the well being of the state of Georgia.”

Her exit comes at a time when Commissioner Bobby Baker – another respected official on the five-member board – risks losing his seat because a sour-grapes opponent has challenged his residency status in a battle that’s now in the hands of the state Supreme Court. Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, whom Speir trumped in the 2002 election and is considered a champion for the status quo, is the lone candidate for her seat. She’ll endorse McDonald “when the devil puts on his overcoat,” she says. (Oddly enough, McDonald may be trying to separate himself from his “Bubba” past — on the Secretary of State’s online list of qualifying candidates, he’s listed merely as “W. Lauren McDonald.”)

“Some commissioners and some candidates view this job as a part-time job, or a part-time commitment to the people,” Speir says. “It should not be viewed as an opportunity to take advantage of the taxpaying public by not showing up for work, driving a state car and getting your gas paid for when you’re not on state business or traveling to junkets where commissioners are wined and dined, paid for by lobbyists with business before the commission” – referring to the recent reports that Commissioners Stan Wise and H. Doug Everett received trips and perks from the natural-gas lobby.

(more…)

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