Environment Georgia Testifies: Stop the Electric Fee Hike

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Channa Childs

Warns of Chilling Effect on Rooftop Solar

Environment Georgia

Atlanta, GA–Environment Georgia’s Clean Energy Fellow, Channa Childs, testified during the Georgia Public Service Commissions rate case hearings this week. The hearings will decide what a requested Georgia Power rate increase would look like. Georgia Power Company has asked to

To raise the mandatory minimum fee from $10 to roughly $18. This will net Georgia Power millions more and cost Georgians at least $215 a year before they flip their light switch on. 

Ms. Childs’ testimony is below and the petition that was delivered can be found here

“Good morning Mr. Chairman, and public service commissioners. Thank you for allowing me to speak to you during this critical hearing. My name is Channa Childs and I’m the Clean Energy Fellow with Environment Georgia, a non-profit that works to protect Georgia’s air, water and greenspaces.

For the past 5 years, Environment Georgia has worked with local communities to launch solarize campaigns. The first Solarize campaign–Solarize Tybee-Savannah was started by Paul Wolff, our board member and former Tybee Island City Councilman.

These programs make it easier for people to go solar by making solar more affordable via bulk purchasing and by vetting installers centrally via our steering committees. 

These programs have helped hundreds of Georgians put solar on their roof. These are people that are using their own funds to build solar. In most cases they are selling their excess solar back to Georgia Power for very little. These individuals are a great example of small private investments in our state helping to make our energy mix cleaner and greener. 

But–the proposed fixed fee hike would change the calculations that many of them made when deciding to invest in solar. We believe the fee hike will also have a negative and chilling effect on future solarize programs. When we learned of the hike we sent an email to our members and past participants in solarize campaigns and got an overwhelming response. Today I’m sharing with you the results of that response. 264 emails and petition signatures that I’ve printed for you.

Many of these signatories have made significant investments in clean energy and Georgia grown businesses by installing solar. Georgia Power’s proposed fee hike sidelines their agency over their own carbon footprint.

Thank you for your time Mr. Chairman and commissioners.” 

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