ROCKDALE COUNTY, GA—Voters will have a chance to hear from the two Democratic candidates who are in the runoff for the Public Service Commission (PSC) District 3 seat.
The powerful PSC, comprised of five seats, is responsible for regulating the state’s utilities (electricity and natural gas), setting utility rates for Georgia consumers and approving infrastructure projects such as power plants, grid upgrades and natural gas pipelines. Two seats are up for elections this year. Keisha Sean Waites and Peter Hubbard will discuss their platforms for the statewide position during a virtual town hall meeting on July 1, 7 to 9 p.m. (To register, scan the barcode at the bottom of the story) The forum will be presented by State Rep. Rhonda Taylor.
The PSC District 3 covers much of the metro Atlanta area including DeKalb, Fulton and Rockdale counties.
Waites, a former Georgia state legislator and Atlanta City Council member, has stated that she would push for expanding renewable energy and setting aggressive benchmarks to reduce Georgia Power’s dependence on coal and natural gas. She also supports performance-based regulation, a model that ties a utility’s profits to customer-focused outcomes such as reliability, affordability, and carbon reduction—rather than to building costly infrastructure.
Hubbard, founder of the Georgia Center for Energy Solutions, has been an active participant in PSC proceedings since 2019. A critic of the current commission’s rubber-stamping approach, he has stated that he is seeking a seat on the commission to help shape policy directly and be a more proactive commissioner. His platform includes cutting energy costs and exploring diversified, modern solutions to meet Georgia’s power needs—including solar energy, battery storage, demand-reduction programs, rooftop solar, and regional energy sharing.
Statewide, Waites received 46.06 percent of the vote in the June 17 primary, while Hubbard garnered 33.27 percent. Since neither candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff, they now will face off in July. The winner for the July runoff will face Republican incumbent Fitz Johnson for the general election on Nov. 5, 2025. Johnson ran unopposed in the Republican primary,
Important Dakes
Early voting for the Waites-Hubbard runoff will be held July 7-11. Absentee ballot applications must be submitted by July 7. Election Day is July 15. Only Democrats can vote in the upcoming Democratic run-off.
Virtual Town Hall, July 1, 2025
To register for the virtual town hall, scan the bar code in the flier below.
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