Must-read article on passage of SB 31 shows how Georgia got into Vogtle Mess

I am so sick and tired of Georgia Power’s lies and corruption. I was the PSC’s spokesman during the 1980s, and back then, commissioners would oppose legislation like SB 31 that usurped the PSC’s power. For the past decade, with this crowd on the commission cheering it on, Georgia Power has gotten its way. It’s disgusting. Plant Vogtle should be the biggest issue in 2018. That’s why I’m backing John @NoelforPSC. From the AJC: Seventy years ago, two Emory University graduates set out across the state asking a simple yet profound question: Who runs Georgia? The answer, as Calvin Kytle and James A. Mackay later wrote: the railroads and Georgia Power. The utility, in particular, held such sway over legislators that an Atlanta…

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Hot mic: John Noel’s outlaw testimony at the Georgia Public Service Commission

FREE JOHN NOEL!  (OK, he hasn’t been arrested yet.) When John Noel showed up to speak as a public witness Monday at the Georgia Public Service Commission, Chairman Stan Wise cut him off, claiming that, as a PSC candidate he had “other forums.” Noel was irritated at the censorship. He’d spoken at the PSC several times before, as a legislator, later as an energy-efficiency expert, and most recently in June—as a PSC candidate. So what happened between June and now? Well, there was this. Needless to say, Wise is not a big fan of Noel, who wants to take the PSC seat of the chairman’s buddy, Chuck Eaton. Not to be denied, Noel took matters into his own hands and produced a…

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Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle, a slam-dunk 2 weeks ago, now looks like an own-goal

By Jonathan Grant On Twitter: @Brambleman  We may be seeing the Plant Vogtle expansion dying before our eyes. Jacksonville Electric Authority wants out. Georgia’s muncipal electrics and EMCs want Georgia Power’s customers to shoulder cost overruns, of which there will be many. The PSC staff says Vogtle shouldn’t be completed unless shareholders assume the risk. The PSC wants to vote “go” or “no-go” before the end of the year, because cancellation carries $150 million in tax benefits.   Here’s the latest.

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Georgia PSC Staff: It’s not worth it to finish Plant Vogtle

Update: See Democratic PSC candidate John Noel’s response to Staff’s testimony. Update PSC Chairman is pushing for a resolution of Plant Vogtle by year end.  Read Stan Wise letter to Georgia Power By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman The Georgia Public Service Commission Staff filed testimony Friday declaring that it’s uneconomic for Georgia Power to complete Plant Vogtle, the $25-billion-and-counting nuclear plant under construction near Augusta. This is under-oath stuff from utility experts who, unlike the commissioners, are not paid by the company. We should listen to this warning. Unfortunately, commissioners don’t. Ignoring opposing evidence, the five Republican politicians have already signaled they’ll do what Georgia Power wants, which is to finish the plant and make a bunch of money not just despite but due…

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Georgia PSC candidate John Noel is running with the sun

PSC candidate John Noel wants Georgia’s energy future to be solar-powered By Jonathan Grant Republican victories in Georgia Public Service Commission races have been so predictable in recent years that Democrats haven’t bothered to field a candidate in three of the past five elections. Next year is shaping up to be quite different for the state’s asleep-at-the-wheel all GOP regulatory agency, however. Here’s why: Democrats are energized. Georgia Power’s troubled $25 billion (and counting) Plant Vogtle expansion has put a harsh spotlight on the PSC and its past decisions. Candidate John Noel, a colorful, dynamic energy-efficiency expert and walk-the-walk solar power advocate with political chops. The former Democratic state legislator with an unforgettable nickname is grabbing endorsements and making a splash with…

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