Ga. (WTOC) – Activist groups are suing Georgia’s Secretary of State over the postponement of elections for Georgia’s Public Service Commission, the entity that oversees utility rates.

The lawsuit alleges that if Georgia’s elections for the PSC were held on time, Georgia Power rates likely wouldn’t have increased as much as they have in recent years.

The lawsuit hinges around House Bill 1312, which as signed into law this spring. It delays the elections of new PSC members until at least 2025 extending the terms of several members of the commission.

The elections had been placed on hold following a different lawsuit in 2020 over allegations that the at-large election format for PSC members violated the Voting Rights Act.

Since then, two elections have been postponed and now moved back even further by House Bill 1312.

During this time the PSC authorized rate hikes for Georgia Power. According to a 2022 release from Georgia power, rates increased by 2.6 percent in 2023 followed by an approximately 4.5% increase in each of the next two years following.

Kim Scott is executive director of Georgia WAND, one of the groups bringing the lawsuit she says these rate hikes were made possible by people left in office.

“We believe that House Bill 1312 is in clear violation of not only our Georgia State Constitution that mandates the terms of the commissioners being six years, but also our right to vote for elected representation,” said Scott.

Meanwhile, we also talked to Tim Echols, vice-chairman of the PSC, he says he plans to run for re-election, whenever an election is held. He also says the rate hikes passed were necessary.

“The way the rate increases work in Georgia, we don’t just willy nilly decide to do this because the power companies have been a good little boy or a good little girl. We base this on the needs they have to run that company. We just finished a nuclear power plant. We’ve had to upgrade transformers,” said Echols.

The groups filing the lawsuit have also filed an injunction asking a judge to order an election to be scheduled as quickly as possible.

WTOC reached out to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office, they say they do not comment on active litigation.

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