Georgia Public Service Commission GPSC News Fall Fall 2014 2014 Volume 13 Issue 1 *Wise outlines concerns *House Energy Utilities and Telecommunications Committee *Georgia not getting credit for nuclear plants *Comment period extended In this issue State Budget Update Commission Verifies Vogtle 3 Expenditures EPA Extends Deadline for 3 Comment on Proposed Clean Power Rule Echols Hosts Lunch and 4 Learn Wise Tours Plant Vogtle Commission Announces 5 Lifeline Week Tribute to Truett Cathy 5 Commission Approves Ex- 6 pansion of Hearing Aid Program Wise and Echols Outline Concerns on EPA Proposal to State Legislators C ommissioner Stan Wise and Commissioner Tim Echols detailed for state House members on October 9 how the proposed Environmental Protection Agency Clean Power rules would affect our state. Wise told members of the House Energy Utilities and Telecommuni- Commissioner Wise cations Committee meeting at the State Capitol "It s expensive what that the proposed rule they are proposing does not give Georgia and we re not getcredit for what the state ting credit for we ve has already done in lower- done to reduce ing carbon emissions by 35 emissions from coal per cent and for building plant and the next the next generation of nu- generation of nucleclear power plants. ar power plants " Wise said. Wise noted that he had written to EPA Administrator Gena McCarthy asking for an extension of the comment period for an additional 90 days. (See article on page 3) The EPA decided to allow comments for (Continued on page 4) Commissioner Echols Employee News 7 In Memoriam Lisa Taylor (1959-2014) Commission Calendar L 8 ong time Commission employee Lisa Tay- the Pipeline Safety Unit. Commissioners friends lor passed away on Au- and colleagues past and gust 31 2014 following present remembered an automobile accident in Lisa at a Memorial Ser- Next Atlanta on August 14 2014. She had been hos- vice held on September 25 at World Changers Issue pitalized in the Intensive Care Unit at Grady Memo- Church International in College Park. Georgia. January 2015 rial Hospital following the accident. Lisa who began her ca- Her brother Tim Taylor gave a reflection on his sister s life. Commission- reer at the Commission in er Lauren "Bubba" March 2001 was the Ad- ministrative Assistant for (Continued on page 2) PAGE 2 GPSC NEWS VOLUME 13 ISSUE 1 Hong Kong Power Officials Visit Wise Attends U.S. Global Leadership Coalition Meeting in Atlanta C ommission staff met with officials from China Light U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson speaks to the USGLC meeting here and Power Hong Kong Lim- C ited here on October 1. Staff briefed the Chinese officials on ommissioner Stan Wise as a member of the Georgia the electric utility rate making Advisory Committee of the U.S. process here in Georgia. CLP is Global Leadership Coalition at- in the processing of renewing tended the Coalition s Impact on their contract with the Hong Georgia meeting in Atlanta on Kong government and is explor- September 29 2014. ing whether to pursue traditional The featured speakers at the ratemaking or deregulation. event were Georgia U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (shown at left) U.S. Army General (ret.) George W. Casey Jr. Helene D. Gayle (CEO of CARE USA) Clyde C. Tuggle V-P Coca-Cola Company and Richard Warner CEO of What s Up Atlanta. The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition is a broad based influential network of 400 businesses and NGOs national security and foreign policy experts and faithbased academic and community leaders in all 50 states who support a smart power approach to build a better safer world. If you have a story for the next GPSC News please send to Bill Edge bille psc.state.ga.us. Next issue deadline is January 15 2015. Commissioners Staff and Stakeholders Participate in Price of Solar Workshop C ommissioners Staff and interested stakeholders held an afternoon long workshop on September 16 in Docket 36325 Georgia Power Company s Advanced Solar Initiative and Docket 38619 Petition to Establish Value of Solar Energy. Commissioner Lauren "Bubba" McDonald Jr. said the purpose was to bring solar participants together to exchange infor- mation. Commissioners Chuck Eaton Doug Everett and Stan Wise also attended. Workshop participants included representatives from the Georgia Solar Energy Association. Lisa Taylor (Continued from page 1) McDonald sang a beautiful rendition of "Holy Ground." Chairman Chuck Eaton spoke as did former Pipeline Safety Director Danny McGriff and Pipeline Safety Inspector Alan Towe. Monique Andrews and Yolanda Clay read scripture and Reece McAlister gave the opening prayer. Commissioners Stan Wise and Tim Echols also attended along with past Commissioner David Burgess. The Reverend Rodney White (Continued on page 5) VOLUME 13 ISSUE 1 GPSC NEWS PAGE 3 Commission Verifies and Approves Expenditures from the Ninth and Tenth Vogtle Construction Monitoring Reports T he Commission August 18 unanimously approved Georgia Power Company s request to verify and approve the expenditures in the Combined Ninth and Tenth Vogtle Construction Monitoring Report for the period between January 1 2013 and December 31 2013 in Docket Number 29849. The total amount approved for the Vogtle expansion is $389 million bringing the total construction cost verified to date to $2.599 billion. The decision follows hearings on June 1 2014 for the Company s testimony and on July 1 2014 for the Public Advocacy Staff s testimony. According to the Company Unit Three will begin commercial operation in late 2017 and Unit Four will begin operation during the fourth quarter of 2018.The Commission on March 17 2009 certified Georgia Power s share of the cost for the Plant Vogtle Nuclear Construction Project as $6.114 billion. Plant Vogtle is co-owned by Georgia Power Oglethorpe Power City of Dalton Utilities and the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia. The Commissioners continue to acknowledge the benefits of this project. Commissioner Tim Echols noted "Not only will this facility produce carbon-free energy for decades but should the price of natural gas go up substantially we will have a hedge against increased fuel costs." EPA Extends Comment Period on Proposed Carbon Emission Rules After Wise Sends Letter to EPA Head T he Environmental Protection Agency on September 16 extended the comment period for its proposed Carbon Emission Rule following numerous comments including a September 3 letter from Commissioner Stan Wise to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy. Wise had requested an additional 90 days to file comments on the Commissioner Wise draft rule. "EPA s current deadline (of October 16) for commenting simply does not provide sufficient time to understand this farreaching and complex proposal " Wise noted. The EPA however will take comments until December 1 an additional six weeks past the original comment deadline of October 16. Wise noted the EPA s draft rule to reduce carbon emissions from elec- tric power plants known as the proposed Clean Power Rule will "place undue hardship on Georgia consumers." In the twopage letter to McCarthy Wise appealed to McCarthy s "sense of fairness" by sharing some insight into how the proposed rules might impact Georgia. In his letter Wise also said "the draft rule summarily discards billions of dollars in investment Georgians have made in state- of-the-art emissions controls on coal-fired units during my tenure." Wise pointed out that the EPA draft rule unreasonably expects natural gas units to operate greater than 70 percent of the time regardless of whether it makes sense economically and without regard to the impact on customers. Wise also wrote that the draft rule "cancels out the benefits of our nuclear development." Wise said in approving the construction of two new units at Georgia Power s Nuclear Plant Vogtle the Commission considered the potential carbon emissions reductions from those units. However Wise said the draft rule penalizes Georgia for these advancements and "ignores the significant investment by making Georgia s goal more stringent than other- (Continued on page 4) PAGE 4 GPSC NEWS VOLUME 13 ISSUE 1 Echols Hosts Lunch and Learn Session on Human Trafficking in the Atlanta Metro Area C ommissioner Tim Echols on September 3 hosted a "Lunch and Learn" session on "Commercially Sexually Exploited Women and Children in the Atlanta Metro Area" at the Midtown Atlanta law offices of Arnall Golden Gregory LLP. "Having four daughters and being a native of Georgia I am deeply concerned about the exploitation that continues to occur in Georgia--especially in Atlanta " said Echols. "These events showcasing the folks working day-in and day-out on this issue are important to raise awareness." Echols said he was particularly Commissioner Echols moved by Justice Melton s comments that showed the link between adult entertainment and the exploitation of women. According to Commissioner Echols organizations like the Salva- tion Army have discovered that many women experiencing commercial sexual exploitation started being exploited as a child. The child victims of trafficking often continue to be exploited after turning 18 due to lack of education resources family support etc. As these young girls turn 18 services provided become more limited even though they continue to be caught in the cycle of exploitation. This event featured ten presentations that uncovered the full spectrum of sexual exploitation with hopes that greater efforts can be made to assist victims in Georgia. Presenters included Caitlin Crane Just1 Hillary Supreme Court State Hearing on EPA Rules Echols plans to use a charter bus DeJarnett Salvation Army during the legislative session to (Continued from page 1) HavenATL Andi Worley Street- take policy makers on an an additional six weeks until De- Grace Phillip Bray SafeHouse "unholy tour" of Atlanta showing cember 1 2014. Outreach Mary Frances Bowley them points of exploitation in- Commissioner Tim Echols Wellspring Living Tiffany Sawyer cluding Metropolitan Avenue echoed similar themes. Echols Georgia Center For Child Advo- Fulton Industrial mid-town and said Georgia did not get credit cacy Patrick Palmer Out of other locations during a late for its solar and other renewable Darkness Torrey Kennedy night event featuring commen- energy sources. He said the pro- DeKalb County Special Victims tary by non-profit and law en- posed rules are "an effort to Unit Dr. Gerald Durley Provi- forcement leaders. browbeat states into adopting dence Missionary Baptist Church Renewable Portfolio Standards." Justice Harold Melton Georgia Wise Tours Plant Vogtle Construction Project Letter to EPA C ommissioner Stan Wise looks over the construction underway at Georgia Power s Nuclear Plant Vogtle Project in southeast Georgia. With him is David Clem Nuclear Development Director Georgia Power. Wise visited the site on August 28. (Continued from page 3) wise comparable states to account for operation of these new units." Wise also added that the four "building blocks" of the EPA proposal are all based on overly aggressive assumptions. "Even if Georgia could increase demand-side energy efficiency to 10 percent by 2030 it would (Continued on page 5) VOLUME 13 ISSUE 1 GPSC NEWS PAGE 5 Commission Announces Lifeline Awareness Week T he Commission joined with who participate or are eligible for (www.lifelinesupport.org) and a the National Association of certain public assistance programs Lifeline Eligibility pre-screening Regulatory Utility Commission- are entitled to receive a basic tele- t o o l (http // ers (NARUC) in announcing phone service discount of at least www.lifelinesupport.org/ls/am-i- September 8-14 2014 as Na- $9.25 per month. More infor- eligible.aspx). tional Lifeline Awareness Week mation on program eligibility NARUC is the national associa- in Georgia. Access to local rules and key messages is availa- tion representing the state public emergency services and com- ble at http //www.fcc.gov/lifeline/ service commissioners who regu- munity resources is vital to all outreach. late essential utility services in residents. Lifeline helps low To sign up consumers should con- their states. NARUC members income consumers connect to tact their prospective telecommu- are responsible for assuring reli- the nation s communications nications provider. Consumers able utility service at fair just networks find jobs access should be aware than not all pro- and reasonable rates. Founded in health care services connect viders offer the Lifeline discount 1889 the Association is an inval- with family and call for help in and should contact any potential uable resource for its members an emergency. For some a provider before making a commit- and the regulatory community local phone can be the differ- ment. Consumers can find more providing a venue to set and in- ence between social connection i n f o r m a t i o n a t h t t p / / fluence public policy share best and complete isolation. www.fcc.gov/lifeline/outreach . practices and foster innovative Under the federal Lifeline pro- Consumers can find Lifeline pro- solutions to improve regulation. gram telephone customers v i d e r s b y S t a t e Commissioner Echols Tribute to Truitt Cathy I met Truett Cathy at a Rotary a promise to put me to work for Club meeting where I re- Chick-fil-a if I would go on to colceived a certificate for my high lege and graduate. Off to Athens I school leadership achieve- went to attend the University of ments. I was just 17 years old. Georgia. I listened to those tapes Little did I know the impact that served my fellow students in varimeeting would have on my life. ous capacities and set some Mr. Cathy spent some time with goals. One of those goals was to me that day. In fact he gave become a statewide elected offime a set of motivational tapes cial. Upon graduation I went by Zig Ziglar a tape recorder to back to Mr. Cathy s humble Hapeplay them on a $50 check and ville office did the interview got Truett Cathy the offer--but turned down the opportunity to run a Chickfil-a store in Texas because of my desire to enter Georgia politics one day. Looking back I can t (Continued on page 6) Lisa Taylor (Continued from page 2) delivered the eulogy. Not only a colleague and coworker but a friend to many at the Commission Lisa will be missed. Lisa was an accomplished author who authored wrote two publications "God s Sent Messenger" and "Kingdom Scribe Your Way to Life." She was also a veteran having served in the U.S. Coast Guard for four years and achieving the rank of Petty Officer Second Class. Wise Letter to EPA (Continued from page 4) create hardships on our ratepayers " Wise said. He added that a 2012 Technical and Economic Achievable Potential Study evaluated similar aggressive targets and found that such levels of demand side energy efficiency have never been demonstrated on a sustained basis. PAGE 6 GPSC NEWS VOLUME 13 ISSUE 1 Commission Expands Coverage for Hearing Aid Services for Uninsured Children T he Commission on September 16 unanimously ap- tion Program in 2007 under the provisions proved an expansion of the Hear- of House Bill 655. ing Aid Distribution Program "Our vote today will which provides hearing aid ser- help children in our vices to children from ages 0 to state with hearing im- 19. The Commission approved an pairments " said amendment to its contract with Commissioner Tim the Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation which contracts with the Commission to provide hearing aid services. The amendment means the Foundation will be able to serve up to an additional 100 children per year whose families fall between the gaps in Medicaid Peach Care and the federal limit for families receiving subsidies or tax credits. The Foundation partners with hearing aid manufacturers and maintains a network of over 150 audiologists throughout the state. As of December 31 2013 the Program has distributed 9 142 hearing aids to 5 331 applicants. The legislature established the Hearing Aid Distribu- Echols. "I appreciate the good work of the Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation and the leadership they provide." Under Georgia law (O.C.G.A. 46 -5-30(h)) the Commission administers a fund that can be used for four different purposes the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) the Audible Infor- mation Access Service the Telecommunications Equipment Dis- Tribute to Truett Cathy tribution Service and other hear- (Continued from page 5) You see helping kids was really ing technology which includes believe I told this man I couldn t Truett Cathy s specialty. People the Hearing Aid Distribution Pro- move out of state. just think it is chicken because gram. The Commission is au- After being elected I visited Mr. his company does that so well. thorized to fund these programs Cathy that first year and Look at their business today. Of through a small surcharge on all thanked him for his challenge their 60 000 employee work- local exchange telephone access and mentoring--albeit it through force 80 percent are less than lines. cassette tapes. The result was 21 years old. This is a company still the same--a changed life. that gets these young people to Something it turns out that he say "It s my pleasure" on cue did with literally thousands of whenever a customer says any young people like me. version of thank you. Those who are parents know that this is no small feat. This respect an accompanying work ethic and career opportunities have served many of his former employees well in life. But Truett Cathy s commitment to children and youth extends far beyond Rotary Club honorees and store employees. Mr. Cathy with profit made from selling chicken sandwiches has rescued hundreds of orphans and under-privileged kids from a certain life of poverty and all that can go with that. Mr. Cathy s WinShape Foundation establishes foster homes--paying a fulltime salary to foster parents to care for the kids even buying the house van and groceries. He often funds vacations college educations and weddings. Add to that the WinShape camps serving 15 000 kids of all socioeconomic stripes per summer and his foundation is taking a huge burden off of our government social services. Truett Cathy lived a life of vision and purpose. He successfully built a business that people usually feel fortunate to work for and he transmitted his values continually--even through serving fried chicken. He was focused on young people and knew how to assess character and potential. He was not afraid to challenge a person and certainly not afraid to give his money away. We ll miss Truett but his legacy will live on through the many people he has touched. VOLUME 13 ISSUE 1 GPSC NEWS PAGE 7 Employee News T o Katherine Leigey on her marriage September 13 2014 to William Montross at the Wahoo Grill in Decatur Georgia. Katherine works in the Internal Consultant Unit. Congratulations T o Tony Wackerly Utilities Analyst and wife Indah on the birth of a son John Krishna Wackerly on July 14 2014. To Terry Pritchett Budget and Fiscal Officer on the birth of grand-daughter Charlotte Devi Rice on August 8 2014. Charlotte was 6 pounds 14.2 ounces and was 19 3/4 inches long. Retirement T he Commission bade farewell to long time employee Mike Russell on August 28 as he closed out 34 years of ser- vice with the state. Colleagues friends and family gathered to celebrate his time here and wish Mike farewell. Mike s wife Deborah joined him for the celebration. Mike started his career with the Commission in 1980. We wish Mike well as he enters this next phase of his life. Mike Russell (top) speaks to the gathering as he retires from the Commission Farewell T o Shaun Rosemond who resigned on August 19. Shaun was a Utilities Analyst Mike and Deborah listen to the who had served at the Commis- program sion since 2002. Team Regulators Run Kaiser Permanent 5K T eam Regulators again took part in the Kaiser Permanent 5K race on September 11 through downtown Atlanta. Thanks to all including the runners who were Dennis Sewell Sheree Kernizan and Janey Chauvet and to Monique Andrews as the Chief Organizer. PAGE 8 GPSC NEWS VOLUME 13 ISSUE 1 Georgia State Holidays for 2014 Veterans Day November 11 Thanksgiving Day November 27 Robert E. Lee s Birthday November 28 Christmas Day December 25 Washington s Birthday December 26 Georgia State Holidays for 2015 New Year s Day January 1 M.L. King Jr. Day January 19 Confederate Memorial Day April 27 Memorial Day May 25 Independence Day July 3 Labor Day September 7 Columbus Day October 12 Thanksgiving Day November 26 Robert E. Lee s Birthday November 27 Washington s Birthday December 24 Christmas Day December 25 Commission Calendar November 2014 4-Administrative Session 11-Holiday 13-Committees 20-Administrative Session 25-Committees 27-28-Holiday December 2014 2-Administrative Session 11-Committees 16-Administrative Session 25-26-Holiday 31-Committees Commission Calendar January 2015 1-Holiday 6-Administrative Session 15-Committees 19-Holiday 20-Administrative Session 29-Committees February 2015 4-Administrative Session 11-Holiday 13-Committees 18-Administrative Session NARUC Annual Convention 2014 November 16-19 2014 San Francisco California Winter Meetings 2015 February 15-18 2015 Washington D.C. Summer Meetings 2015 July 12-15 2015 New York City N.Y. SEARUC Annual Meeting 2015 June 14-17 2015 San Antonio Texas GPSC ONLINE .psc.state.ga.us T he Public Information Office publishes GPSC News for the Georgia Public Service Commission. Information for GPSC News should be sent to Bill Edge 244 Washington St. S.W. Atlanta Ga. 30334. Discussion of regulatory matters in this newsletter should not be construed as legal interpretations of orders or rules issued by the Commission. COMMISSIONERS Chuck Eaton Chairman H. Doug Everett Vice-Chairman Tim G. Echols Lauren "Bubba" McDonald Jr. Stan Wise EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Deborah Flannagan EXECUTIVE SECRETARY Reece McAlister