Georgia
Georgia Power could face new law to disclose its cost of power generation on customer bills – Georgia Recorder
A bill aimed at increasing transparency into Georgia Power customer’s bills has cleared the House Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee ahead of a critical deadline this week.
The House committee unanimously approved on Tuesday Chairman Don Parsons’ House Bill 1406 that would require Georgia Power to provide on customer bills information about the average overall cost of fuel used by the electric supplier to generate kilowatt hours of electricity charged to the customer for the billing period.
It’s the second time in recent days the state’s largest electricity supplier with strong lobbyist representation at the state Capitol has been the subject of proposals to rein in some of its business practices. Late last week, a state Senate committee supported a bill proposing the creation of a consumer advocate to represent ratepayer interests with Georgia Power files for a rate hike.
Parsons said he drafted the bill so customers can better understand how much the state’s largest utility company charges based on energy costs. The information includes the average cost for Georgia Power to produce a kilowatt hour of electricity from coal, natural gas, solar and nuclear energy over the previous year.
The fate of the bill now rests with the House Rules Committee ahead of Thursday’s Crossover deadline for legislation to advance out of one chamber during the 2024 session.
Parsons said that during his 30 years of serving on utilities legislation committees, he could only recall Georgia Power supporting legislation that it asked a lawmaker to sponsor. The bill comes on the heels of state regulators approving several Georgia Power bill increases due to increased electricity base rates, overrun costs associated with building the Vogtle nuclear power plant units, coal ash cleanup and other expenses.
“I think having this kind of transparency could really alleviate a lot of those concerns, particularly when fuel costs go up also happens to be around the same time that another rate hike happens,” said Parsons, a Marietta Republican.
Jeff Grubb, director of resource and policy planning at Georgia Power said one of the reasons the company opposes the bill is that a good deal of the information can be found on the customer bills and the company’s website.
For example, Georgia Power updates its fuel costs for energies like coal, nuclear and natural gas every year under the company’s facts and figures section online, he said.
Grubb cautioned that many customers could become confused by including information that’s not directly tied to the rates customers are paying on that particular bill.
“If customers are looking to make changes to their bill, or to add a resource or behind the meter solar, we have teams that will work with those customers and provide them all the information that they need to make those types of decisions,” Grubb said.
Grubb said that when a customer’s power bills fluctuate, it’s typically due to the usage of electricity and the fuel costs Georgia Power receives is determined in rate cases that goes before the Public Service Commision. The company can come back later to recoup some of the extra fuel costs if they exceeded projections based on the energy commodities market, Grubb said.
He also said that providing how much Georgia Power has paid for fuel within the past couple of months puts the company at risk of providing trade secrets in a volatile energy market.
“We have less concern or no concern with something from last year a few months ago, but something that we just got finished with and our annual expenses in a month causes us concerns from a business confidentiality point because it could harm customers,” Grubb said.
Parsons said that Grubb must think Georgia Power has a lot of “dumb” customers who will be confused by providing more information on what it costs to do business.
“If I’m getting a new roof put on the house and the contractor tells me this summer this is going to cost this much, I say well, okay, how much does it cost you for each bundle of roofing material that you use? I would expect him to tell me how much,” Parsons said.
“I don’t know why Georgia Power would not want to provide this basic information to a customer. You keep talking about proprietary secrets and things like that,” Parsons said. “You’re defending the company, but you’re not looking out for the customer.”
Bob Sherrier, staff attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, says Georgia Power’s policy with the Public Service Commission lets the company charge customers 100% of its fuel costs.
“For example, in last year’s (fuel cost recovery) proceeding, the average residential bill was increased by about $16 a month to pay for mostly gas spikes the prior year,” he said. “I think that this is a good bill and that this kind of information is important for the people who actually have to pay for it to know.”
Rep. Beth Camp, a Concord Republican, said she would appreciate a breakdown of coal, natural gas, nuclear, and solar power on her Georgia Power bill.
Woodstock Republican Rep. Jordan Ridley recommended that Georgia Power get out of the electricity business if it is so concerned about protecting trade secrets.
“Anytime we have government-run monopolies, we need to have as much transparency as possible,” he said.
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MACON, Ga. (WGXA) — Early voting is underway across Georgia for the state’s primary runoff elections, part of a final week of campaigning before voters head to the polls.
The runoffs will determine the major-party candidates for the upcoming general election, following a primary last month where some candidates did not receive a majority of the vote.
MORE INFO ON ELECTION | Georgia Primary Election Day | State, local races across Middle Georgia
Key races include the Republican contest for governor, featuring Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and businessman Rick Jackson. The candidate who wins the runoff will face the Democratic nominee, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, in the fall.
Republicans are also deciding their nominee to challenge incumbent U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff. This race is between U.S. Rep. Mike Collins and former football coach Derek Dooley.
Other runoffs include contests for lieutenant governor. On the Democratic side, Josh McLaurin and Nabila Parks are competing for the nomination. The Republican runoff is between Greg Dolezal and John F. Kennedy.
Georgia Secretary of State GOP candidates Tim Fleming and Vernon Jones are included in the runoff. The winner of the two will challenge the Democratic nominee, either Dana Barrett or Penny Reynolds, who are also in a runoff.
DID YOU HEAR | Fall Line Church women’s group promotes anti-violence message through faith and experience
Candidates Marshall Talley and Ron Lemon are on the ballot in the upcoming Bibb County runoff election for the District 2 seat on the Macon Water Authority Board.
Incumbent Monroe County Commissioner Al Turner is also in a Republican primary runoff election with William Kerry Osborne for the District 4 seat.
“I think every election is important,” Said Thomas Gillon, Election Supervisor for Bibb County. “The party you picked for the May election is the party you would need to be voting for this election. If you voted non-partisan in the May election, you can vote for any party in the runoff, but we had about a little over 21,000 people vote in May. I’d like to see at least that many people come out to vote for this one.”
Gillon explained there are three locations to vote in Bibb County: the main office at the Macon Mall (3661 Eisenhower Pkwy, STE MB101), Elaine H. Lucas Senior Center (132 Willie Smokie Glover Drive) and Theron Ussery Community Center (815 N Macon Park Drive). This goes until 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
Under state law, voters who cast a ballot in the initial primary must vote in the same party’s runoff. Registered voters who did not vote in the primary are eligible to participate and may choose either party’s ballot.
State election officials encourage voters to check their designated polling locations and hours, which can vary by county during early voting. Voters can verify their registration status and find their precinct by visiting the official Georgia My Voter Page online.
Election Day is Tuesday, June 16.
Stick with WGXA as we keep you ready for what’s next.
Georgia
$44 Million Georgia Estate, Held by the Same Family for 130 Years, Could Break Jake Paul’s Record Purchase
Spring Creek Plantation will set a record for the most expensive sporting estate in Georgia history if it sells for more than $39 million, which is what YouTube star and boxer Jake Paul paid for a ranch in the state last year.
The property, whose acreage spans two counties, is in the heart of the wild quail belt and offers opportunities to hunt trophy whitetail deer. Other recreational activities include fishing, boating, paddleboarding, jet skiing and sailing.
MORE: A Former Gilded Age Inn Perched on a Cliff Above the Hudson River Lists for $2.9 Million
“A property of this size and ambition rarely becomes available and never stays available long,” said Jon Kohler of Jon Kohler & Associates, who listed it Monday. “It’s 8.5 square miles of land, and almost all of it is one contiguous plot. That’s really rare in the South. It’s more like something you’d see out West.”
After being held by the same family for 130 years, the farm was converted to recreational use, Kohler said, adding that the current landowner “spent an untold amount of money” to transform it into a modern year-round recreational and sporting estate.
Stats
The 5,519-acre property includes a newly built, fully furnished lakefront lodge that’s 5,000 square feet and a 182-acre private spring-fed lake. There’s also a lake house, a 2,167-square-foot guest house, a 2,828-square-foot cottage, and a carriage house that has a three-car garage and a guest suite. The buildings were recently remodeled and are being sold fully furnished.
Amenities
The property produces $500,000 in annual income from farmland and mining royalties, which makes it “one of the highest-yielding recreational properties in the South,” Kohler said.
The price includes $1 million in equipment. There’s a full-time management team in place. The automated irrigation system has 12 center-pivot sprinklers that cover 1,060 acres.
Neighborhood Notes
Spring Creek Plantation is in the Albany Plantation Belt, which Kohler said is “one of the most intensively managed sporting grounds in the Southeast.”
Its location is prime: It’s 10 minutes from a 5,000-foot-long private-jet strip that Kohler said has the added bonus of “allowing you to come and go with anonymity.”
Blakely, the nearest town, is home to Kolomoki Mounds State Park.
“It’s a farming town,” Kohler said. “It looks like the set of the old TV show ‘Dukes of Hazzard.’ With its mom-and-pop shops surrounding the courthouse square, it’s like a little American town.”
Mansion Global Boutique: Why Your Home Needs a Little ‘Ugly Beauty’
One of the plantation’s neighbors is Will Harris, owner of White Oak Pastures, the largest organic farm in the state, and author of the 2023 memoir “A Bold Return to Giving a Damn.”
Harris, an early and ardent promoter of humane animal husbandry and environmental sustainability, once leased land at Spring Creek Plantation, Kohler said.
Agent: Jon Kohler, Jon Kohler & Associates
View the original listing.
Georgia baseball players were setting up to take a photo in front of the Foley Field scoreboard with an “OmaDawgs,” graphic on it when fans in the standing room seats and on Kudzu Hill in right field serenaded the team.
“Oh-Ma-Ha! Oh-Ma-Ha!”
It was a moment that a Bulldog team had not experienced for 18 years.
David Perno, the Georgia coach for that 2008 team, and his star player, Gordon Beckham, were in the house on a day the Bulldogs clinched an 11-9 victory over Mississippi State that sent them to Omaha.
The game on Sunday, June 7, took four hours and 14 minutes and wasn’t decided until the 10th inning with two runners on when Justin Byrd struck out Jacob Parker swinging on a 1-2 pitch.
“Kind of just willing it to happen,” catcher Daniel Jackson said. “The second it hit my glove, just knowing it was over, was an incredible feeling.”
Georgia, now 51-12, celebrated. They are used to it after soaking up SEC regular season, SEC tournament and NCAA regional titles this season.
A few Georgia players even jumped up to sit on the center field fence.
Coach Wes Johnson shared a long embrace and then a kiss with his wife, Angie, near the Georgia dugout.
The former Minnesota Twins pitching coach was emotional in the postgame press conference, too, when he said how much making it to the College World Series in his third season means.
“People don’t understand the sacrifices you make to do that,” he said. “The birthdays you miss, anniversaries. A lot.”
Johnson took over a Georgia program that went 0-for-5 in regionals in 2009, 2011, 2018, 2019 and 2022, until his first team featuring Charlie Condon got to a super regional in 2024.
After the win Sunday, Johnson’s voice was cracking when he mentioned Condon sticking with Georgia after he arrived.
“Could have left, didn’t, helped us build this thing,” Johnson, wearing a super regional champions cap, said.
N.C. State stopped them in three games in 2024 to end their season one game short of the CWS.
Georgia then was bounced in the regionals a year ago, again as a national seed.
This one came just over three years after Georgia hired Johnson.
“We think we found the leader to take us to the next level in baseball,” athletic director Josh Brooks said at Johnson’s introductory press conference.
Johnson was on the way then to Omaha where LSU won the College World Series.
“That’s something I want to do here as well,” he said then.
His team now is headed there for just the seventh time in program history.
Johson also went to the CWS with Arkansas in 2018 when the Razorbacks reached the finals.
Georgia will head to Omaha as the highest remaining national seed at No.3 with the momentum that comes with going 8-0 in the postseason, starting with the SEC Tournament.
It will play on the biggest stage in college baseball, but the Bulldogs weren’t ready to turn the page quite yet.
“We’ll soak it in for about 12 to 24 hours and then get right back to the grind,” said Jackson, whose 31st homer of the season, a two-run shot over the fence in left field in the 10th inning, broke a tie game.
An hour after the game ended, Byrd and first baseman Bryce Calloway were among players still in uniform on the field soaking up the super regional title with their families.
Branch, one of the four players that have been with Johnson for all three of his Georgia seasons. went from the postgame press conference to the field and was handed the Super Regional trophy that the Bulldogs earned by winning the series 2-0.
“I truly do go home thinking about Omaha and think about going to that place and taking Georgia back to this place,” Branch said, “and securing the legacy that Georgia needs to have in Omaha.”
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