Voters Get Rare Say Over Who Sets Their Electric Rates

Power bills will be on the ballot Tuesday in states where voters directly choose the officials who approve their electric rates.

Nine states, from Georgia and Alabama to Montana and the Dakotas, have utility commission seats up for election, Stateline reported Monday.

In Georgia, Democrats would control the Public Service Commission, holding three of its five seats, if both of their candidates win, according to election tracker Ballotpedia.

Democratic Commissioner Peter Hubbard faces Republican Fitz Johnson, the commissioner he unseated in 2025, the site noted.

Democrat Shelia Edwards and Republican Josh Tolbert are running for the seat Republican Commissioner Tricia Pridemore gave up to mount an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. House, the elections site added.

Hubbard wrote in a May 13 post on X that Georgians “who pay a power bill deserve Public Service Commissioners who are engaged, ask tough questions, don’t take money from companies they regulate.”

He said in a Sept. 14 campaign statement that data centers “should not be allowed here in Georgia, unless they agree to” conditions including renewable power, union labor and no nondisclosure agreements.

Lead Locally, a group that backs what it calls “local climate champions,” named Hubbard and Edwards in an Oct. 20 slate of candidates it said “can regulate, restrict and stop data centers.”

Former Vice President Kamala Harris raised money Oct. 27 for Democratic commission hopefuls in Arizona and Georgia, warning “the stakes are high” because “people cannot afford the basics,” Politico reported.