PSC rejects environmental groups’ bid to revisit Georgia Power expansion

The Georgia Public Service Commission denied a petition Wednesday from environmental groups to reconsider their approval of Georgia Power’s expansion. The vote was 3-2 with the two newest members of the commission voting against staff’s recommendation.

Commissioner Peter Hubbard made a motion to revise the certification of certain natural gas facilities, including an expansion at Plant McIntosh, to address the concerns put forward by the petitioners. The motion was denied in a 3-2 vote.

“This overall reconsideration and the amendment that I’m providing, I want to just emphasize, is not anti-growth. What it is is pro-consumer. It’s pro-law, and it’s pro-common-sense, and I firmly believe that we can support Georgia’s future without gambling with the livelihoods of those who are paying the bills today,” Hubbard said.

The commission also denied a request by advocacy groups for access to trade secret information under a nondisclosure agreement. The vote was also 3-2.

Georgia Interfaith Power and Light, the Southface Institute, the Sierra Club and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy argued at a hearing Feb. 12 that the decision to expand Georgia Power’s capacity violates the legal standard under which the commission operates.

Jennifer Whitfield, with the Southern Environmental Law Center, which represents the petitioners, said that the commission did not find that there will be a need for the expansion by 2031.

“This case to certify 100% of the resources, which is what the commission has done, the commission must find that by 2031, Georgia Power retail customers will need 100 percent of the resources requested by Georgia Power,” she said. “The commission’s order did not make this finding.”

Georgia Power disagrees.

“That has never been the standard, ever, nor is that the reasonable interpretation of the law,” said Brandon Marzo, a lawyer for Georgia Power, in the hearing.

The staff of the PSC submitted a response to the petition in January recommending the commission deny the petition.

Commissioner Alicia Johnson urged fellow commissioners to consider the petition at the hearing Feb. 12.

“Reconsideration is not delay for delay’s sake,” she said. “I think it is responsible governance, and it reflects our obligation to balance growth with stewardship.”