When a company like Georgia Power makes a request for a 7% rate increase from the Georgia PSC, we should look behind the press release to see if we are paying for bad management, mismanagement or just plain old incompetency.

Looking at this release we note three things that GA Power wants to say, but unfortunately cannot say as they approach politicians - and that is what the PSC is made up of, politicians. They are subject to the whims of those ratepayers who elect them, so GA Power must give the PSC the coverage they need to justify a 7% rate increase. They have certainly made their case here.

But they need to make an even greater case for their reason for the rate increase and that greater case is "Change". Our entire method for generating, transmitting and delivering power to customers is changing, and changing fast. Distributed Energy Resources (DER), Demand Response (DR), Resiliency and Reliability demands, AMI, ... and the list goes on. These are exciting times for the utility industry and it is the job of the PSC to keep up with those times and support companies at the forefront of change.

Yes, they are monopolies, but the industry is doing a great job of not only making the grid safer and more cost effective, but also cleaner, better prepared for increasing weather events, and the list goes on and on.

GA Power is looking to the new future and the PSC needs to make the case to rate payers that change is not free and it is something all of us need to accept and align with. Good for GA Power, that they are making a case for change. We hope they get their 7%.