Democrats gain control of Georgia board that regulates utilities for first time in decades

Voters have handed Democrats control of the Georgia Public Service Commission, a little known but important regulatory board that influences how much Georgians pay for energy.

Democrats Peter Hubbard, who is already on the commission, and Shelia Edwards, who was competing for an open seat, were both candidates leading by more than 10 points as of late Tuesday night, according to unofficial results from the secretary of state’s office. 

“I want to thank the people of Georgia for their votes and prayers! The voters have spoken and I am ready to go to work on their behalf,” Edwards said in a statement.

Hubbard had more pointed words about the direction the commission is headed in under a Democratic majority.

“I look forward to helping fulfill Southern Company’s goal of net zero emissions by 2050,” Hubbard said in a statement.

The commission came under public scrutiny last year after the formerly all-Republican commission voted to approve six rate increases over the last few years, resulting in an estimated average increase of about $500 per year for the average household. Those concerns coupled with the rapid influx of data centers made the debate around energy affordability and regulation a top issue for voters in 2026. While the commission does not control whether data centers come to Georgia, they have approved a massive expansion of energy infrastructure to support data centers. 

Hubbard, who flipped the District 3 seat in a 2025 special election, won his reelection bid to represent the Atlanta-area seat with 56% of the vote as of late Tuesday night.

Hubbard defeated former Republican commissioner Fitz Johnson, who was appointed to the seat in 2021 by Gov. Brian Kemp and lost the seat to Hubbard last year. Johnson did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday night.

Edwards, the Democratic nominee for District 5, is a community advocate and business owner based in Cobb County. She defeated Republican Josh Tolbert, a mechanical engineer, with 55% of the vote as of late Tuesday night.

Tolbert in a statement congratulated Edwards on her victory and said that despite the results not being in his favor, he’s “deeply grateful to everyone who supported (his) campaign and for the opportunity to meet so many wonderful Georgian.”

“I also want to applaud my fellow Republican candidates for their willingness to step forward and serve our state, and thank their families, supporters and volunteers for the tremendous sacrifices they made along the way,” Tolbert said.

With three of the five seats, Democrats will have a majority on the commission for the first time in 20 years starting next year. This is a monumental shift for the board that is responsible for regulating Georgia Power, which is the state’s largest electric utility. The commission became an all-Republican board in 2007 after incumbent Democrat David Burgess, who was the first Black official in the board’s history, was defeated by Republican Chuck Eaton in 2006.

Democrats regained spots on the commission last year when Hubbard and Alicia Johnson flipped two seats in a 2025 special election that was seen as a potential bellwether for the 2026 midterms. Hubbard and Johnson campaigned on making energy costs more affordable by prioritizing clean energy sources. They both defeated Republican incumbents who had voted to approve the series of rate increases. 

Hubbard and Edwards continued to campaign on the promise of bringing down energy costs, but Hubbard shifted his focus to describing what the commission could do with a Democratic majority.

“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 at a debate organized by the Atlanta Press Club.

Edwards ran on being an advocate on the board for Georgians who are concerned about their power bills, saying that the PSC has acted too favorably toward Georgia Power in regulatory hearings. At the Atlanta Press Club debate, Edwards said that if she’s elected and Democrats get a majority, they “can turn the commission into a consumer-focused commission versus a utility-focused commission.”

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