Georgia County Government - March 2009 - (Page 19)

Feature The Georgia Public Service Commission By Bill Edge Public Information Officer, Georgia Public Service Commission Commission Profiles H. Doug Everett, Chairman A native of Cordele, Commissioner Doug Everett is serving as Commission chairman for 2009. He is the first Republican elected to the Commission from Southwest Georgia. He served as chairman in 2004. He is a past president of the Southeastern Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (SEARUC). He was elected to the Georgia House from Albany in 1996 and served three terms before his election to the Commission in 2002. As a state representative, he served on the House Industry Committee and the Subcommittee on Utilities. Everett also received the ACCG 2008 Commitment to Public Service Award. Everett’s full biography is available at www.psc.state.ga.us/pscinfo/bios/everett.asp Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, Jr., Vice-Chairman McDonald, who served 20 years as a state representative, was appointed to the PSC by Governor Zell Miller to fill a vacated post and then re-elected in a special mid-term election in 1998. He held the seat until 2002. On Dec. 2, 2008, Georgians elected McDonald to serve on the PSC again. A native of Commerce who now resides in Clarkesville, McDonald is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a BBA in Business. McDonald’s full biography is available at www.psc.state.ga.us/pscinfo/ bios/mcdonald.asp Robert B. “Bobby” Baker, Jr. Baker was first elected to the Public Service Commission in 1992, and was the first Republican elected to a statewide constitutional office PSC continued on page 20 M any Georgians have only a vague knowledge of the Georgia Public Service Commission, yet this state agency has a tremendous impact on their pocketbooks and the state’s economy. The Commission decides what many Georgians pay for electricity, natural gas and telephone service as well as regulates household goods movers, and enforces laws to protect buried utility facilities and natural gas systems. Established in 1879 as the Georgia Railroad Commission, the Commission was one of a flurry of state regulatory agencies set up across the nation in the late 1800s to rein in the freewheeling railroads and control what many government officials perceived as the railroads’ exorbitant rates. Eventually, the Legislature extended the Commission’s authority to cover utilities, movers and underground utilities. The Commission became the Public Service Commission in 1922. The Commission is a constitutional body composed of five members elected statewide who serve six-year terms on a staggered basis. One member is selected on a rotating basis to serve a one-year term as chairman of the Commission. This year’s chairman is Commissioner Doug Everett of Albany. The Commission’s biggest impact on local government is its authority to enforce laws protecting buried utility lines and regulating the safety of natural gas pipeline systems. Amendments passed in 2005 to the Georgia Utility Facility Protection Act (O.C.G.A. §25-9-2) brought county and city governments under the penalty provisions of the Act for the first time. County governments must obey the law whether they are acting as the excavator or as the facility owner locating their own facilities. The Commission has authority to levy fines using a tiered penalty structure based on the number of employees or services offered by the government. The Commission also enforces safety standards for natural gas systems owned by local governments. In some instances, the Commission has authority to regulate natural gas rates charged by local governments if the service extends across county lines. The Commission is in the midst of deciding on one of the biggest utility construction projects in more than 25 years, the addition of two new nuclear reactor units at Georgia Power Company’s Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro. The total cost of the two reactors is estimated to be more than $14 billion, of which Georgia Power’s share would be $6.4 billion. If the Commission approves the project, construction is projected to be completed in 2016. ■ MARCH 2009 www.accg.org 19 http://www.psc.state.ga.us/pscinfo/bios/everett.asp http://www.psc.state.ga.us/pscinfo/bios/mcdonald.asp http://www.accg.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - March 2009

Georgia County Government - March 2009 Contents President’s Message County Matters Focus on Southeast Georgia The Georgia Public Service Commission Jerry R. Griffin MPA Scholarship Recipients Named Extension News Research Corner Staff News County Parade Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - March 2009

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