(The Center Square) – Candidates for Georgia’s Public Service Commission debated energy policy and data centers on Monday.
The Atlanta Press Club hosted debates for the two open seats on the Public Service Commission on Monday. Seats in districts three and five are open in the November elections, with partisan control of the board at stake.
Democratic commissioner Peter Hubbard is running for reelection to the board against Republican Fitz Johnson, who did not participate in the debate. Democrat Sheila Edwards and Republican Josh Tolbert are vying for the open seat currently held by Stan Wise.
Hubbard called for Edwards to be elected to the board, which would give the commission a Democratic majority. He said Democrats would expand home weatherization grants, prevent data centers from raising residential costs and increase the use of solar power.
“What I’m looking to do with the majority on the commission is to work to lower folks’ power bills using clean energy and make sure that we’re holding data centers accountable,” Hubbard said. “Republicans just have not seen fit to enact those policies.”
Tolbert, a former engineer at the nuclear power plant company Last Energy, said he would not support using nuclear power as a commission member. He said nuclear power has been shown to increase utility costs for Georgia residents.
“While I like the technology of nuclear power, I would not support further development unless we have strict cost controls that do not increase your power bill,” Tolbert said. “If we bring it to the state, it should bring power bills down, not up, and right now we don’t have that situation.”
Edwards also said she would push back on proposals to advance nuclear energy. Instead, she called for implementing alternative energy sources like solar power.
“We have a very small solar program in Georgia,” Edwards said. “We can open that up. We can do some other things besides uh resorting to nuclear.”
Tolbert said he supports implementing solar energy projects in Georgia but said natural gas production should still be included. He called for a mixed approach in energy production and generation.
“We should go with the lowest emission option that meets those affordability and reliability requirements,” Tolbert said. “Sometimes that’s solar, sometimes that’s natural gas, and each application will be okay.”
Edwards criticized Georgia Power, the state’s primary energy provider, for allegedly cutting services for residents throughout the state. She criticized the prevalence of data centers in Georgia and called for protections against energy use.
In 2025, the Public Service Commission unanimously voted to approve Georgia Power’s plan for a 10 gigawatt grid expansion, primarily to benefit data centers. Reports estimated that between 80% and 85% of the expansion would be for data center growth.
Tolbert said he would have opposed this decision if he was a member of the Public Service Commission.
“At the end of the day, we need to make sure that in every single circumstance Georgians are not paying for data centers,” Tolbert said. “That means not only their direct costs like electricity, but also the indirect costs, transmission lines, pipelines, gas reservation costs. The decisions need to lie with the community.”
Edwards said she would support Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms’ proposal of a one-year moratorium on data center construction in Georgia.
“They came into our communities, they didn’t pay any taxes, they’re using our water, using our electricity, and they’re being a public nuisance to the communities that they’re coming into,” Edwards said.
Early in-person voting starts on Tuesday in Georgia. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. For more information visit the Secretary of State’s office, at sos.ga.gov. For updated results on Election Day, visit thecentersquare.com/georgia.