Stop Solar Tax

Environment Georgia Delivers Testimony to the Georgia Public Service Commission

Environment Georgia Research & Policy Center

At a hearing held by Georgia’s Public Service Commission Environment Georgia’s Ragan Davis delivered the following statement in opposition to Georgia Power’s proposed solar tarriff.

“Hello, my name is Ragan Davis. I’d like to thank the Public ServiceThank you  Commissioners for the opportunity to speak to you today. for giving me the chance to speak today.

I’ll soon be a Georgia State graduate and am a fellow with Environment Georgia, a non-profit organization. I’m alsoAs a Georgia Power shareholder and both myas someone whose father and grandfather spent most of their lives working for Georgia Power. , I deeply care about doing what is most beneficial for the Georgia Power Ccompany. However, one of the main tenants of Georgia Power’s monopoly is that it must act in the best interest of the ratepayers. I find it difficult to see how punishing ratepayers who are putting clean energy back into the grid is acting in the best interest of the ratepayers. Georgia’s solar energy potential could lead to countless jobs being created within the state, especially in rural areas where the unemployment rate remains high.

That is why I urge you today to deny The Georgia Power Company’s request to charge solar producers an extra back-up fee.

Though Georgia Power claims to need part of their requested rate the increase in revenue for pollution control, so why would they at the same time, this  increase would stifle growth in Georgia’s most promising form of pollution control: clean energy?.

Again, as a young person who hopes one day to work in the clean energy industry and as aI share holder I urge you to deny these efforts to needlessly burden solar production in Georgia.”