Georgia
DOT’s HERO program to resume full service
The Georgia Department of Transportation’s Highway Emergency Response Operators (HERO) program will resume patrolling interstate highways across metro Atlanta during the overnight hours seven days a week effective July 1, the state agency announced Thursday.
HERO vehicles also will resume full coverage of the region’s nearly 400 miles of interstates.
The program cut back on its operating hours in 2023 due to a staffing shortage, patrolling only between 5 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. each day to ensure adequate coverage during peak traffic.
“HEROs are our first and best resource to keep traffic moving safely and efficiently in metro Atlanta,” Georgia Commissioner of Transportation Russell McMurry said. “The reinstatement of full service of HERO’s coverage area with 24/7 patrols is reflective of the department’s commitment to providing consistent and immediate assistance to everyone who uses our roadways.”
“Traffic incidents do not operate on a schedule,” added Tyrone McCord III, the DOT’s HERO unit manager. “Now that we are back to a full staff, thanks to effective recruitment strategies and intensive training, we are committed to patrolling the nearly 400 miles of metro Atlanta roads at all hours to improve public safety, reduce traffic delays, and be better prepared for emergencies.”
While HERO units are primarily responsible for roadway clearance after traffic incidents, the program also offers free roadside assistance, helping stranded motorists with flat tires or dead batteries, and providing fuel and coolant.
The HERO program was launched back in 1994. The DOT followed up in 2017 by creating the Coordinated Highway Assistance & Maintenance Program (CHAMP) to patrol Georgia’s interstate highways outside of metro Atlanta, except for interstates 59 and 24 in the northwestern corner of the state.
To request assistance from HERO or CHAMP, contact 511GA by dialing 511 hands-free on your mobile phone, downloading the 511GA app to your Apple or Google mobile device, or by visiting 511GA.org.
Georgia baseball will resume its NCAA Athens Regional game with Long Island at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 29, after persistent rain—heavy at times—forced the suspension of the game.
The Bulldogs have a commanding 15-1 lead with nobody out in the bottom of the sixth.
The teams and some fans waited out a delay that started 7:14 p.m.
The game was suspended officially at 9:06 p.m. Long Island players were already grabbing their equipment in the dugout to depart for the team hotel before then.
The winner of Georgia-LIU will play No. 3 seed Liberty Saturday in the double-elimination tournament in a game scheduled for 5 p.m.
The loser will play No. 2 seed Boston College at noon.
The No. 3 national seed Bulldogs hit six homers before the game was delayed due to heavy rain.
There was a 53 percent chance of rain at 9 a.m. Saturday, according to weather.com, decreasing to 17 percent at 11 a.m., but there’s a threat of storms in the afternoon.
The Georgia Public Service Commission this week approved a plan expected to reduce utility bills for Georgia Power customers by a few dollars a month.
The commission said the change will generate about $285 million in total annual savings for Georgia Power customers, or roughly $50 per year — about $4.04 per month — for the average residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month.
The Georgia PSC voted Thursday to lower overall rates as part of the approved plan.
Georgia Power Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Tyler Cook said the decision will provide “real savings for Georgia families and businesses as the heat of summer begins and energy use increases.”
“At Georgia Power, our teams work every day to run our business efficiently and keep reliable and affordable energy flowing to our customers,” Cook said.
Cook said the outcome followed months of work between Georgia Power and PSC staff, including reviews, public hearings and input from residents and intervenors.
The approved plan is tied to a stipulated agreement reached earlier this month involving two cases filed with the PSC in February, the Fuel Cost Recovery case and the Storm Cost Recovery case. Those cases addressed recovering fuel costs used to generate electricity and expenses tied to restoring power after storms.
Georgia Power said its rates remain, on average, about 15% below the national average and that it is still on track to provide additional annual savings of about $102 per year for typical residential customers beginning in 2029.
ATLANTA – The Georgia Public Service Commission approved a stipulated agreement on Thursday to lower utility rates for Georgia Power customers starting June 1.
The regulatory body voted to pass the deal without changes, establishing how the utility can bill for fuel costs and storm damage restoration expenses.
State regulators approve rate cuts
What we know:
The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) voted 3-2 to reject several utility cost amendments before ultimately passing the overall deal. Under the approved agreement, a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month will see monthly bills decrease by roughly $4.03 to $4.04. Total annual savings across all 2.8 million Georgia Power customers are projected to reach approximately $285 million.
The deal reduces how much money the utility can recover from its customer base for storm expenses by nearly 60%, dropping the revenue requirement from $270 million down to $109 million. The agreement also extends the amortization of storm recovery costs, largely tied to Hurricane Helene in 2024, to 67 months, caps natural gas advance purchases at 20% over a 36-month window, and cuts $13 million from the company’s original fuel recovery estimates.
Accountability questions remain unresolved
What we don’t know:
While the PSC agreed to launch a separate investigation into how fuel costs are allocated, officials have not yet confirmed how much large industrial operations will be forced to pay in future rate cases. Consumer advocacy groups argue that massive data center companies are driving up fuel costs for everyday ratepayers without paying for the infrastructure upgrades they require. Critics note that it remains unclear if a future utility asset structure will successfully shift financial burdens away from residential homes.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from official press releases issued by the Georgia Public Service Commission and Georgia Power, as well as previous FOX 5 Atlanta reporting.
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