Rise Up for Clean Energy
Tell our Commissioners to Say NO to Georgia Power's Fossil Fuel Request!
Rise Up and Show Up!
April 11
Make a public comment at the final Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) public hearing:
April 11 is the last opportunity for Georgians to make public comments directly to our 5 elected Georgia Public Service Commissioners before they announce their decisions regarding Georgia Power's fossil fuel requests on April 16. Each person has up to 3 minutes to speak. All comments will be videotaped and shown on the Georgia PSC YouTube channel as part of each day's hearing, and media draw from these comments and images in their reporting.
What Can You Say?
You can make your own personal statement about why you are concerned about climate change and why you object to Georgia Power's request. Personal stories are often impactful. Alternatively, we can provide you with draft comments, that you can edit as you like, covering some of the current and future economic costs of burning global warming fossil fuels. The section "What has happened so far" (see below) explains why this is an important time to point out the economic costs. Contact Lisa Coronado at 404-387-5011 or lisacoronado100@gmail.com for draft comments.
Location and Timing:
The PSC hearing room is located on the first floor of the Paul D. Coverdell Legislative Office Building. The address for the entrance pictured here is 244 Washington St SW, Atlanta, GA 30312. For parking and MARTA information click here.
You must sign up to deliver public comments. We are currently recommending that you walk through these doors by about 9:30 am. You will go through security - bring your ID! - and then take the elevator up to the PSC reception area on the first floor where you will sign up to speak. After you sign up, you will be directed to the PSC hearing room, but you can also choose to spend some of the time before public comments in the cafeteria located on the ground floor near security.
The public comment period on April 11 will be at the end of the Energy Committee meeting. Almost 20 parties intervening in opposition to Georgia Power's request will be given a few minutes to make their final statements during this meeting. It is anticipated that the public comment period will begin somewhere between 10:45 and 11:30.
Important Note: Given that the energy committee meeting will be significantly longer than usual to accomodate intervenor statements, we will check in with the Public Service Commission to see if people on tight schedules can sign up closer to 10:30 am. Check back here in a few days to see if we have updates. If you do have the time, though, the statements made by the intervenors will be interesting, inspiring, and informative!
What Has Happened So Far:
So far, over 50 people have attended Georgia PSC hearings to make public comments opposing Georgia Power's request due to the climate change and pollution impacts of burning fossil fuels. This public input is unprecedented, and it is so important! Due to outdated and poorly written PSC rules, it is very difficult for the Commission Public Interest Advocacy Staff and intervening parties to discuss climate change and pollution impacts during hearings. This has meant that the intervening parties - which include environmental organizations, the US military, solar and other environmentally conscious companies, and cities and counties working to meet their clean energy goals - have been severely constrained from presenting powerful arguments to contradict Georgia Power's claim that customers will experience an economic benefit from an increased use of fossil fuels.
So, Georgia Power is currently winning its case for fossil fuels on the basis of its new (as of 3/27) prediction that customers will save $2.89 per month on their rates. This would be laughable, if the situation weren't so dire. The current economic costs of climate change and fossil fuel pollution for Georgians - higher cooling bills, more expensive produce, greater health care costs, hurricane damage and relocation costs during storm events, higher insurance rates, etc. - already far exceed that estimated (and not proven) rate savings.
The worldwide scientific community is urgently warning us that unless we begin to rapidly transition away from fossil fuels now, we will experience levels of warming that will be significantly harder for humanity to handle. Any additional warming will negatively impact our health, economy and quality of life more than previous equal levels of warming. There will be many more deaths. Much more disease, destruction and displacement of large numbers of people. More global instability as countries vie for scarce resources and struggle to accommodate climate refugees. And there is the very real possibility that additional warming will soon lead to our crossing tipping points in natural systems that will warm our planet even faster.
At the April 11th hearing we need many people to present the case that Commission staff and intervenors can't. We need people to speak about how current warming has already led to many economic impacts and hardships for Georgia residents that far exceed $2.89 per month. And we need others to quote directly from the 5th National Climate Assessment and other recent large studies that show how additional warming will lead to compounded and more amplified negative impacts for our state and the world.
You can be a Climate Hero!
Very few people are aware that our 5 elected Georgia Public Service Commissioners exist, let alone that their decisions will have state, national and international repercussions in the fight to prevent additional climate change. Many of those who are aware are unable to attend the April 11th PSC hearing due to work or school.