Tell the Public Service Commission you want clean energy in Georgia!

Did you know that five elected officials control your utilities?

The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) regulates public utilities. According to their website, the PSC is supposed to “ensure that consumers receive safe, reliable, and reasonably priced telecommunications, electric, and natural gas services”.

Right now, the PSC is deciding whether Georgia Power’s plans are good for Georgians. The PSC will decide whether Georgia Power can add more fossil fuel generators, and whether it should add more clean energy.

Every three years, Georgia Power prepares an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which outlines how much renewable versus nonrenewable energy will be used. While other states are working to add more sources of clean, renewable energy, Georgia Power’s IRP adds a lot more natural gas and keeps coal plants open longer. Even though solar is the fastest, cleanest, and most economical form of energy, Georgia Power has added very little to the IRP. The PSC has the ability to make them add additional clean energy instead of using pollution-causing fossil fuels.

Now is the time to speak up for clean energy! We urge you to submit a written comment to the PSC to ask for additional safer, healthier, clean energy (like solar and wind) and less fossil fuels.

The science is clear: fossil fuels cause at least 15% of all deaths in the U.S. They affect our health from before we’re born until we’re seniors. Pollution from fossil fuels causes premature birth, damages children’s lungs, and impacts mental development and I.Q. Burning fossil fuels causes lung disease, heart disease, stroke, and dementia, as well as many other chronic health conditions.

Fossil fuels are also causing the climate crisis. The same dirty fuels that create air pollution and make us sick also make greenhouse gases that cause weather disasters. Many medical organizations including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians have statements saying climate change is a dire threat to human health. The United Nations calls climate change a “Code Red for Humanity”.

We have seen the damage that comes from hurricanes and other strong storms with high winds and floods here in Georgia. These disasters bring death and destruction, and the damages are paid for by taxpayers.

How has your life, or the lives of your loved ones, been impacted by air pollution? We encourage you to add your story to our sample message and tell the PSC that you want clean energy sources added to the IRP!