GA Public Service Commission candidates pledge no money from utility companies
Wednesday morning, all three Democratic candidates running for the District 5 seat on the Georgia Public Service Commission publicly pledged not to accept donations from the entities they regulate, such as Georgia Power.
During a news conference held just outside the doors leading to the Public Service Commission, Atlanta People’s Campaign member Neil Sardana announced the Pledge for Public Trust which is backed by a collective of over 20 organizations.
“(The pledge) commits (the signatories) to the one fundamental principle: that the authority of the Public Service Commission belongs to the people of Georgia, not to the industries it regulates,” Sardana said.
“Specifically, the signatories pledge not to accept donations or anything of value from Georgia Power, Atlanta Gas and the Southern Company and every other utility company or entity regulated by the Public Service Commission, along with their affiliates, lobbyists, lawyers, executives — you know, all the people they have under their grasp to influence the commission at our expense.”
The pledge outlines five pillars that, in addition to not receiving donations, ensure the long-term well-being of Georgia families, care for low-income and other disadvantaged families, provide transparent work and champion climate-positive energy.
Last year, the Energy Policy Institute reported former commissioners, and then candidates, Fitz Johnson and Tim Echols were given $174,500 and $221,250 in campaign contributions from Georgia Power lawyers, Georgia Power, and Gas South–Southern Company affiliates and subsidiaries.
Now, to “demand a public service commission that serves us — the people,” Sardana said, the Atlanta People’s Campaign galvanized Shelia Edwards, Angelia Pressley and Craig Cupid to sign the pledge. Each District 5 Democratic candidate spoke at the event, which was held before the storm cost recovery hearing.
“I’m back to finish the work that I started in 2022,” Edwards said. “I’m not new to this process. I’ve been advocating for you and everyone around the state for a number of years.”
Edwards won the Democratic PSC primary in 2022, but later that year a U.S. Supreme Court ruling cancelled the general election.
“I’m running to join Peter and Alicia to get the job done for our community,” Edwards said. “It’s time to change the trajectory of the Public Service Commission so that it’s making decisions for the people, putting the people back in the Public Service Commission, not the utility.”
Pressley, a professor and sustainability advocate, said she isn’t the status quo.
“I am excited to take this pledge because accountability is a key part of my platform,” Pressley said. “I want to be accountable to you. I’m in this race because of three reasons: the biomass plants that could hurt ratepayers or those workers who would have those jobs, the 10 gigawatts of oil and gas that I didn’t like, and I’m here because of the legacy property that was essentially stolen from Black farmers for biomass.”
Cupid said this pledge matters as a minimum to serve Georgians.
“(The pledge) says commissioners will face every decision based on evidence and the public interest,” Cupid said. “It says we will serve with transparency, disclosing all contacts with industries we regulate, and it says we will give particular care to low-income families, rural communities and the least able to bear the cost of rate increases. That’s not aspirational language. That’s the minimum Georgia families deserve.”
Sardana and the Atlanta People’s Campaign media contact Maggie Birgel said they reached out to all commissioners and all Republican PSC candidates, and only Peter Hubbard signed the pledge.
“We are also calling on every Georgian to ask these candidates one simple question: Will you sign the pledge for public trust? And if not, why? … We need to question them if anyone is not willing to sign this pledge,” Sardana said. “The era of a captured Public Service Commission must end.”
This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 4:22 PM.
