Another high-energy Ga. race on ballot with Senate runoffs

ATLANTA — Georgia’s pair of U.S. Senate runoffs have prompted hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign spending, but the low-profile runoff for the state’s Public Service Commission is no small matter either, with billions of dollars in utility bills at stake.

Incumbent Republican Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, who has been on the utility regulator for 22 years, is trying to win a fourth six-year term. But McDonald fell short of a majority in November and was forced into a Tuesday runoff by Democrat Daniel Blackman, who’s trying to break into what’s now an exclusively Republican club on the five-seat body.

The candidates are running statewide to represent a district that includes Augusta, Gainesville, Rome and areas to the north.

The runoff, like the general election, has been fought on the questions of whether McDonald is too friendly to Georgia Power Co. and whether he’s doing enough for consumers.

McDonald says he’s struck the right balance between the company and consumers, arguing in a Dec. 15 town hall hosted by the Climate Reality Project that consumers need to pay for what they use instead of trying to shift burdens onto the shareholders of the Southern Co., the Atlanta-based parent of Georgia Power.

“There’s no such thing as free electricity,” McDonald said, repeating one of his favorite phrases. “Somebody is going to pay for it.”

Blackman, who has worked to advance environmental and sustainability causes, argues that a shift is needed to more fairly balance utility and customer interests.

“It’s very clear to anyone watching this, to anyone that knows anything about this process that the priorities have not been on ratepayers for a long time,” Blackman said.

The biggest part of the argument revolves around the two nuclear reactors that Georgia Power is building at Plant Vogtle outside Augusta. The winner of this race will have to deal with the ultimate impact of the $25 billion project on customer bills.

McDonald argues Vogtle is a perfect complement to increased solar generation.

Blackman, though, says Vogtle has already caused a “tremendous burden” on customers and wants to limit what Georgians pay.