ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – In January, your Georgia Power bill will increase by 3.5%.

That adjustment equates to a $5.85 increase on each monthly bill for the average resident using 1,000 kilowatt hours of energy, according to a Georgia Power spokesperson.

The Georgia Public Service Commission approved the rate increase in mid-December, following similar rate increases in 2023 and 2024.

These annual rate increases were orchestrated as part of a 2022 agreement between the commission and the utility company.

“No one wants a rate increase, but in order to keep the grid going, we have to fund it,” said Commissioner Tim Echols.

Echols said the board negotiated the rate increases to occur annually rather than all at once in 2022, to help limit the impact on Georgia consumers.

He said the state approved 60% of what Georgia Power was seeking in their proposed rate adjustments.

Echols commiserated with customers experiencing higher energy bills.

“We’ve had too many rate increases over the last three years,” Echols said.

Some customers voiced frustration over a separate bill bump this summer.

Georgia Power is expected to make $306 million in additional revenue from the January rate hike, down from the originally projected $400 million estimate in 2022, according to a state spokesperson.

“Another increase in January, so I’m mentally preparing and trying to budget for that to kind of see what that shock is going to be like,” said one Georgia Power customer named Marcus.

A Georgia Power spokesperson told Atlanta News First the company is committed to keeping utility bills affordable and said the average Georgia Power customer pays 15% less than the national average on their energy bills.

“As much as you hate having your power bill going up a few dollars, you would really hate rolling blackouts,” said Echols, who said maintaining a reliable power system is his top priority as a commissioner.

The rate increase comes as Southern Company, Georgia Power’s parent company, is reporting notable profits.

In an October earnings report, Southern Company reported earnings of $3.9 billion, compared with $3.1 billion for the same period in 2023.

The company said those earnings were partially offset by increased expenses and taxes.

A Georgia Power spokesperson also recognized the profit earnings by Southern Company, attributing the “high performance throughout the year” to weather and growth across the system, they said in a statement to Atlanta News First.

“Our parent company, Southern Company, has reported high performance throughout this year, largely due to weather and growth across our system,” the Georgia Power spokesperson said.

Said Echols: “I feel like the investments have made Georgia a more reliable place to live and to work.”

On Tuesday, a Georgia Power spokesperson pointed to customer assistance programs for those struggling to keep up with their energy bills.

Earlier this year, the utility company expanded an income-qualified discount program for those with limited incomes and in need of financial resources.

Copyright 2024 WANF. All rights reserved.

ATLANTA – Two of the federal inmates on death row whose lives have been spared by President Joe Biden are from the state of Georgia.

Biden commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row on Monday morning, converting their punishments to life imprisonment.

PREVIOUS STORY: Biden gives life in prison to most federal death row inmates: What to know

Those two inmates from Georgia are Meier Jason Brown and Anthony Battle.

FULL LIST OF INMATES

Battle was convicted and sentenced to death in 1997 for killing a prison guard. He was the first Georgia man to receive a federal death sentence after Congress restored capital punishment in 1988.

Battle was sentenced to die after he killed 31-year-old guard D’Antonio Washington. Battle, who was serving a life sentence for the 1987 murder of his wife, repeatedly struck Washington in the back of the head with a hammer at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, when Battle was given a chance at the end of his trial to ask jurors to spare his life, he told them that Washington “died like a dog.”

Brown was convicted and sentenced to death in 2003 for the fatal stabbing of a postal worker.

Brown was sentenced to death by a federal jury in Savannah.

On Nov. 30, 2002, Brown killed 48-year-old postmistress Sallie Gaglia during a robbery. He reportedly stabbed her 10 times.

In a statement, Biden said, “I’ve dedicated my career to reducing violent crime and ensuring a fair and effective justice system.”

“Today, I am commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 individuals on federal death row to life sentences without the possibility of parole,” Biden continued. “These commutations are consistent with the moratorium my administration has imposed on federal executions, in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.”

Biden also said that he condemns the murders and grieves for the victims, but he was guided by his conscience and his experience as a public defender, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, vice president, and president. He added that he is “convinced more than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level.”

With Biden’s move, there are now just three federal inmates still facing execution.

They are Dylann Roof, who carried out the 2015 racist slayings of nine Black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; 2013 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev; and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018, the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history.

Georgia Ann (Langowski) Udby, age 65 of Lankin, ND passed away on Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at the First Care Health Center of Park River, ND.

Georgia was born on May 25, 1959, in Grafton, ND to Joseph and Emeline Langowski.  Coming in as child 13 out of 14, she was the youngest and tallest girl in the family.  This sweet, cheerful, and generous lady who loved to dance grew up in Grafton, ND.

During high school, Georgia participated in various athletics including volleyball where she received the “Most Desire” award.  She graduated from Grafton High School as a Spoiler in 1977.  She went on to further her education as NDSSS, Wahpeton, ND and then Thief River Falls College, where she achieved her RN Degree.  She was so proud to become a nurse; it was a lifelong career accomplishment.

Her desire to care for others as an RN carried over to her personal life as well.  Georgia was a super generous person; she took great joy in giving gifts and sending thoughtful cards to family and friends so everyone would be cherished.  Georgia always stopped to talk and visit with anyone she recognized and enjoyed participating in Grafton class reunions.  She loved to laugh, have fun and had a great sense of humor.  Georgia looked forward to traveling to various farm conferences and conventions, such as the Norsk Host Fest and State Fair in Minot, ND, and the Pride of ND shows.  She especially loved going to the North Dakota Farmers Convention where she could visit non-stop for four days with our Bismarck friends.  She loved to knit and challenged herself to try some complex patterns.

Georgia met the man of her dreams during the summer of 2004.  Scott literally swept her off her feet, they fell in love and married in June of 2005 and settled on the farm in Lankin, ND.

Everyone who knew Georgia knew how much she loved her family.  She especially loved to visit with everyone about her only child, Erick, and all his accomplishments.  Georgia deeply enjoyed spending time with her siblings, nieces and nephews at family gatherings throughout the years.

She was preceded in death by her son Erick Rhen, Thief River Falls, MN; her beloved dog Lucy; her parents Joseph and Emeline Langowski, Grafton, ND; siblings: John Langowski, Grafton, ND, Inny Praska, Seattle, WA, and Mark Langowski, Santa Rosa, CA; and Scott’s parents Glenn and Carol Udby, Lankin, ND.

She is survived by her husband Scott; siblings:  Vicky (Jim) Bryn, Reno, NV, Joe (Janet) Langowski, Pacific, WA, Odo (Chris) Langowski, Peoria, AZ, Gontron “Buster” (Connie) Langowski, Hazen, ND, Ora (Henry) Meyer and Jeanne Quinn, Coeur d’Alene, ID, Lester Langowski and Mary (Wally) Sturdivant, Grafton, ND, Sylvia (Maurel) Mattson, West Fargo, ND, Veronica (Arlyn) Askim, Park River, ND; in-laws: Brian (Cynthia) Udby, Lankin, ND, Connie and Keith Glatt, Pahrump, NV, Ray Praska, Seattle, WA and Cathy Langowski, Santa Rosa, CA; along with several niece, nephews, great nieces and nephews, great-great nieces and nephews whom she loved.

Mass of Christian Burial will be Friday, December 27, 2024 at 10:30 am at the St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church of Grafton. Visitation will be for one hour prior to the service at the church.  The service will be live streamed on the Tollefson Funeral Home website.  Interment will be at the Hoff Lutheran Cemetery of Rural Adams in the spring.

An online guestbook is available at:  www.tollefsonfuneralhome.com

The Tollefson Funeral Home of Park River is in charge of the arrangements.