Hi, I'm Pamela Kirkland, host of Morning Edition at Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Welcome to the Atlanta Press Club.

Loudermilk-Young Debate Series from the studios of Georgia Public Broadcasting.

The 2026 debate series was made possible by grants to the Atlanta Press Club from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and the Robert Charles Loudermilk Senior Foundation.

This is the debate for candidates running for Georgia District five Public Service Commissioner.

We have two journalists who will question the candidates.

Alondra Rocha is a reporter at the Georgia Recorder.

Kristi Swartz is a climate reporter at the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

I'm going to kick off today's debate, asking each of the candidates to introduce themselves and tell viewers why they should be the next district five public service commissioner.

Candidates will have 60s to introduce themselves.

We're going to go in alphabetical order, starting with Sheila Edwards.

Hello, I'm Sheila Edwards.

I'm one of nine children born in a marginalized community.

But today I stand before you as a hidden figure in this race.

My background includes having worked for Lockheed engineering giant NASA on the space shuttle program at Kennedy Space Center.

After the challenger disaster, my job was to work with engineers to create documentation that would allow us to return to flight.

America could not return to flight until we got the facts right.

And that was my job.

Georgia Powell rates are another disaster that we have to get right, and I'm here to do that.

Your power bills have gone up more than $500 a year.

Families, seniors and veterans are suffering.

Meanwhile, Georgia Power earns a record $2.8 billion a year, and data centers are flooding our communities.

There are two commissioners already on the PSC, and I'm running to join them to be the third critical vote to change the trajectory of what's going on in our state for ratepayers.

I'm Sheila Edwards, Sheila E for PSC.

Josh Tolbert.

You may now introduce yourself.

Moderator.

Panelist thanks for having me.

I'm Josh Tolbert, I'm a Christian.

I'm a husband to my wife Mary, and it's because of my five young kiddos that I'm running for the Public Service Commission.

The commission, although it's.

Although it makes technical decisions about our energy future that will affect us and my kids for decades.

There's not a single engineer on the commission.

I am an engineer by education.

I have four engineering degrees, including a doctorate in mechanical engineering.

But more importantly, as a licensed professional engineer, I've spent my career designing and evaluating energy systems.

Ratepayers need a voice and representative on the commission.

And when it comes to utility decisions and power bills, that voice needs to know something about energy.

I'm Josh Tolbert, an energy, an engineer running for Public Service Commission, and I'm asking for your vote.

All right.

For the full set of debate rules, please visit Atlanta Press club.org.

Our panel will now ask a question to an individual candidate.

We're going to start with Alondra Rocha, who will ask a question for Josh Tolbert.

Again, you have 60s for your response.

Mrs.

Tolbert, you've previously said that you love nuclear energy, but you don't like the price of it.

But your but your professional background includes working in nuclear with nuclear technology.

How can voters be sure that you won't support another nuclear plant that could have cost overruns, that eventually ratepayers will have to pay for?

Thank you for the question.

I have been so clear in this campaign I would not support any nuclear power unless it had strict cost controls and unless the overall costs were going to be borne by the investors.

It is my experience in nuclear power that gives me this understanding.

We build natural gas power plants for one to $2 million per megawatt.

We built Plant Vogtle for $17 million, a megawatt.

That resulted in a 25% increase in your power bills.

So while I think the technology of nuclear power is amazing and could be cost effective, it in fact is not.

And so right now, while I like the technology of nuclear power, I would not support further development unless we have strict cost controls that do not increase your power bill.

If we bring it to the state, it should bring power bills down, not up.

And right now we don't have that situation.

Thank you.

Kristi Swartz, your turn to ask a question.

Hi, Miss Edwards, um, it's clear that nuclear power is going to come up again in during the next six year term.

So when it does, how would you approach adding nuclear power to the grid?

Well, my approach would be simple to push back on that until we look at all the other possibilities.

We have to figure out how we get away from fossil fuels and turn towards renewables.

So I would not be quick to usher in nuclear, even though my opponent, um, says he loves nuclear.

He said it on his website.

He said it in previous debates.

Um, and so I will not, not approach this as someone who's going to usher in, uh, nuclear.

I would like to tap into some of the other resources that are available to us.

We've got solar that we can tap into.

We have a very small solar program in Georgia.

We can open that up.

We can do some other things besides resorting to nuclear.

Okay, Alondra, you've got the next question.

Um, Miss Edwards, uh, utility regulatory filings can include thousands of pages of technical data.

How will you how will your background in business and advocacy allow you to analyze and draw conclusions from this data?

Well, I'd like you to note that I have a career having worked at Kennedy Space Center for Lockheed with engineers with technical documents.

So I have a very strong background in that area.

Being able to relate information from one side of the spectrum to the other side of the spectrum.

So I believe my my background is equipped to do that.

I call myself a unicorn because I have background in technical government, community, and all the entities that are going to be necessary to be an effective PSC member on the Board of Commissioners or board of the PSC.

Thank you.

And Christy, you get a question to Josh Tolbert.

Sure.

Did anyone approach you about being appointed to take Commissioner Pridemore seat when she resigned early?

And did you consider it?

No, no one approached me.

I did not consider it.

I did not ask for it.

I'm focused on this particular election and serving the people for the next six years.

All right.

That concludes our first round.

Each candidate will now ask a question to their opponent.

You'll have 30s to ask the question, 60s to respond.

And the person who asked the question will get a 32nd rebuttal.

Josh Tolbert please ask your question for Sheila Edwards.

Sheila, do you think it's important for commissioners to have experience in energy?

I believe that it's important for a member of the commission to have an experience across the spectrum, because you're dealing with the community, you're dealing with the public, and I'm running to put the public back into the Public Service Commission.

We have engineers already in the basements of the Public Service Commission building.

We have them at Georgia Powell.

We don't need another engineer.

What we need is somebody who's going to fight for the rights of citizens, and that's me.

So what I heard you say was that you do not think that adding energy experience would be valuable as a commissioner, I am frankly sick and tired of us electing politicians that talk a good game and don't know what they're talking about.

I think it's a good thing for our elected officials to know more about the subject that they are overseeing.

While we do have staff in the basement, as you say, they provide recommendations.

Either it is the commissioners that are elected by the official, by the public to protect the ratepayers and make those decisions.

Okay, Sheila Edwards, it's your turn to ask.

Ask Josh Tolbert a question.

Well, we presently have Peter Hubbard that serves as our technical, um, expert on the PSC.

And, um, I think you answered the question from the, uh, from the, uh, the moderator that Governor Kemp did not appoint you as the, uh, replacement for Tricia Pridemore, nor did he replace you, appoint you when he appointed, um.

Fitz Johnson.

So is it because they don't believe in your technological, technological, ideological ideologies that they didn't put you in place?

Or is there a specific reason why they overlooked you?

And what somebody else who didn't have the technical background that you possess?

Are you asking me why Governor Kemp, out of 11 million people didn't select me?

I don't know.

I wasn't looking for that position.

I can't speak for why someone else makes the decision that they make.

I've been focused.

I have a career in engineering.

That's what I was focused on, and I'm looking forward to serving.

And I do believe that that technical expertise will matter.

I mean, look, just today I found out that I have been endorsed by the Georgia Building and Construction Labor Union.

They endorsed me, and they, in fact, endorsed your running mate, the Democratic nominee, Peter Hubbard, because they see value in competence in this position.

I can't speak for why I wasn't nominated, but I believe that they they see this as a role that needs competence, that we can make the right decisions.

And they're confident that I am the right person for that role.

And Sheila Edwards, you get a rebuttal?

Well, I've got endorsements from across the board with entities that care about our community, care about our our state.

I do not have endorsements from the coal ash companies, the nuclear power plant companies, or the card carrying Republican entities.

I'm representing the people of Georgia who care about what's going on in our state and do not appreciate being misled about your background, about being a nuclear power plant engineer.

When you're talking to the North Side.

But when you get to the south side, you're a mechanical engineer, so you have to tell the people the truth one time and start stop changing your story.

Thank you.

Each and every time you go across the board.

We're going to continue on.

You're watching the general election debate for district five.

Public Service Commissioner.

We're going to go back to our panel now.

Who will ask questions to the candidate of their choice until we run out of time?

Kristi Schwartz, we start with you.

Okay.

This question is for Josh Tolbert.

What are you going to do about Georgia Power's reliance on coal and gas going forward, given that scientists today say we are near the tipping point to where we will not be able to reverse or slow down the impacts from climate change?

Thank you for the question.

Look, each and every technology is a tool in our tool belt.

We have to look at which one is the right job for the right application.

We have to make sure that we've got an affordability issue in our state.

We've got to make sure that we are driving prices down and maintaining reliable electricity with the options that we have to do that, we should go with the lowest emission option that meets those affordability and the reliability requirements.

Sometimes that's solar, sometimes that's natural gas.

And each application will be analyzed on the merits.

Okay.

Alondra Rosha, your turn.

Miss Edwards, your campaigns.

A main theme has been putting people over profits.

And you've promised not to approve a future rate hike unless Georgia Power provides transparent justifications.

How will you balance that promise without infringing on Georgia Power's guaranteed rate of return on equity that is allowed under the law?

Well, I think that Georgia Power wants more than just a return on equity.

They want to do some other things in our state.

So my approach is going to be bring me something that I can work with that's going to help lower the bills for hardworking Georgians.

Again, we've got Georgia Power making billions of dollars, and we have hard working citizens struggling to keep their lights on.

We have Georgia Power turning the lights off in the dead of winter and the hottest days of the summer, and then demanding that they pay a fee to get reconnected.

That's just not right.

And so I'm going to push back on that situation, and I'm going to ask the good people at Georgia Power to bring me a plan that we can work with to reduce these rates.

All right, Christie, we go back to you for your question.

This question is for Sheila Edwards.

Ma'am, as you stated, the Public Service Commission stands to have three Democrats on the panel for the first time.

So how are you going to work with the others to set policies that would not be challenged in court?

Well, my objective would be to set policies that are going to be good for the citizens of Georgia.

I'm not going to be too concerned about the other commission members, because I believe they know the right thing to do, and I believe that once we get that third critical vote and we can turn the Commission into a consumer focused commission versus a utility focused commission, the other people will fall in line.

I think they feel the same way we do that.

This is just not fair to the to the Georgia citizens that they cannot pay their bills.

Seniors can't pay their bills because they have to decide whether they get medication or pay.

Georgia Powell, you know, mother's just coming home from the hospital and having their powers turned off.

People on electric equipment, not being able to plug up because their power is turned off.

Something has we have to have a better situation, a better system in place to make sure we're dealing with the consumers of Georgia, I've crisscrossed the state, and they're saying the same things.

They want rate relief.

They don't want data centers like my good friend over here supports.

They want something different.

And so when I'm elected, I'm going to give them something different and I'm going to work with everybody.

For that answer.

Orlander your turn.

Mr.

Tolbert, uh, it seems that recently you started to align with Democratic Public Service Commissioner Peter Hubbard.

Um, agreeing with many of his responses at a recent event.

Um, if elected, do you see yourself as a potential swing voter swing vote on the commission?

That's a great question.

It depends what you mean by swing vote.

Uh, I am an engineer and analyze things based on data, facts, information, and economic analysis.

Anybody that's looking out for the best interest of the ratepayers, and that is the basis in which they're making the decisions.

What's best for the ratepayer based on the data, facts and information, we're going to see eye to eye.

I don't really view myself necessarily as a swing voter.

I just believe I'm going to be making the right decision for the ratepayers.

Sometimes people may vote with me, sometimes they won't.

But what I will make sure that I do is with each, every, with each vote that I have, I will explain why I believe we need more transparency and accountability on the Commission.

Are we explaining why we voted the way that we did what it was based on?

What was the expected outcome?

And with me?

With me, every single vote, you will fully understand why I voted the way that I did.

Okay, Christy, back to you for another question.

Okay.

This question is for Josh Tolbert.

Um, what do you think about the recent agreement with Georgia Power and the commissioners about data centers and customer protections?

Do you feel that it went far enough?

You know, it's a great question.

I went and objected to the decisions that the commission was making last fall, where they were expanding 10 gigawatts of power with 80 or 85% of that being for ratepayers.

I mean, for data centers, because I do not feel like it is appropriate protection for the ratepayers.

At the end of the day, we need to make sure that in every single circumstance, Georgians are not paying for data centers.

And that means not only their direct costs like electricity, but also the indirect cost transmission lines, pipelines, gas reservation costs, the decisions need to lie with the community.

You have the final say in a transparent, open process where the public has a seat at the table and talking about those conversations.

But if they decide that their community wants a data center, it is an obligation of the Public Service Commission to make sure that Georgians, hardworking Georgians are not using their money to pay for data centers.

Verlander, back to you.

Uh, Miss Edwards, uh, you've pledged that massive data centers and AI facilities must pay the full cost of the infrastructure that they require to power them.

Will you support a pause on approving new energy capacity for data centers until there is clear regulations on how tech companies will pay for the infrastructure that they need?

Yes, I would support that.

I think Keisha Lance Bottoms has called for a year moratorium on that, and I support that and support even going further, because we have 159 counties in Georgia, we need to make sure everybody's voice counts and is heard as we make plans on what to do with data centers.

They came into our communities.

They, you know, they didn't pay any taxes.

They're using our water, using our electricity.

And they're being a public nuisance to the communities that they're coming into.

You know, and I point to my good friend, uh, Mr.

Josh here, who, you know, had his love of data centers on his website and conveniently took that off.

So, you know, are you, you know, are you lying to the public now or are you lying to them then about your position relative to data centers?

And the good people of Georgia need to know that because at the end of the day, they do not want these things in their community.

They want the guardrails that are needed and necessary to be able to allow these things to operate.

And right now, they don't exist.

So a moratorium is absolutely necessary.

Josh Tolbert, would you like to respond?

Yes.

My opponent likes to pick and choose words off of a website to try to characterize my position.

I've been clear I am pro transparency.

First, we need to have a transparent outcome where people can be making decisions and there's not backroom deals around data centers that the community involvement is there.

And then and only then if a community under that transparent process wants a data center, that there is no cost to the existing community.

Data centers need to provide a positive return on investment for the community, add value to the community, not cost the community.

Okay, Christy Schwartz, next, we're going to head to our next question.

Okay.

Um, Sheila Edwards, this question is for you.

Um, riffing off of transparency, I know that that is part of your campaign platform and any discussion to change the amount of information that the utilities redact is going to be met with significant backlash.

So how are you going to work around that?

Well, I think it's important to get a census with the rest of the the commission on what's needed.

And we're asking the public to pay for a gambit of different things.

And they don't know what they're paying for.

So I don't think it's fair for the information to be redacted to the point where they're redacting their own names, so the public doesn't know what's going on.

So that has to change.

And I go back to, um, my friend here who talked about misleading on his comments.

We have the receipts on where he said he loved data centers and then conveniently took that away.

And so nobody's mischaracterizing his comments.

We're just holding him to the facts and his facts, not ours.

Okay.

Alondra, you have the next question.

Uh, Mr.

Tolbert, uh, Georgia Power is heavily reliant on natural gas to meet the energy demands of the future, which is largely driven by data center growth.

There are public health concerns that a natural gas expansion could impact air quality, for example, what can the PSC do to mitigate those concerns for voters?

Thank you for the question.

You know, it's about scrutinizing what options we need if we're going to provide power for, for for Georgians, for businesses, for companies, whether it's data centers or data centers, what assets do we need?

What power plants do we need to produce power for those?

And how can we do that in the least emission method possible?

Sometimes it's going to require natural gas power plants.

Sometimes it's solar.

If we need peak capacity in the middle of the day, there is no more cost effective way to produce electricity than utility scale solar.

But of course, if we need power in the middle of the night, solar is not the most cost effective way.

So we need to decide what is the best option.

Again, this is you're going to see a theme from me.

I make decisions based on data, facts, engineering and analysis.

How do we consider those and make sure that we are providing the most reliable and affordable electricity?

And yes, in every opportunity that we can meet those affordability and reliability concerns, we do it with the least emission solution possible.

All right, Kristie, back to you.

Okay.

Um, this question is for Sheila Edwards.

Miss Edwards, if you are elected in November, um, what is the first thing that you're going to do to get, uh, to get acquainted with the other commissioners and the commission operations, something that someone who's already not on the inside wouldn't know.

Well, the interesting thing is that even though my opponent seems to tout that he's the person to be in the PSC, he has no experience with working with the PSC.

And my experience with working with Kennedy Space Center is more aligned with working with the Public Service Commission, working with the various disciplines and understanding what's going on.

Um, one of the first things I want to do is open up the solar program.

We have 5,000 slots, but we have over 11 million people in, in the state.

How do we get more people, um, to be a part of the solar program?

We are the number one manufacturers for solar solar panels.

But at the bottom of the list, when it comes to utilization, we have to make that make sense.

And so when I'm elected, I'm going to call the staff in.

I'm going to talk with the other members of the commission and figure out how we can make this situation work for the citizens of Georgia.

We have a sun that gives off, um, free energy, and all we need to do is harness it.

And then we have people like him telling you that you can't use it at night.

Absolutely.

You can use it at night because it's called a storage unit.

So don't believe the boogeyman that they try to put out there about solar.

It's an option that we should be capitalizing.

We're at time.

Thank you.

Um, Alondra, your turn for another question.

Uh, Miss Edwards, uh, you identify as an advocate and have said that the Public Service Commission's work should be centered around consumer protections.

What specific policies would you advocate for as commissioner that protect consumers, but also allows the state to keep growing economically?

Well, I think the first thing would be, um, reducing the number of people that they're cutting off from access to power, um, utilities is not a luxury.

It's a necessity.

And you see what happened with the people in Gary, Indiana, when their power was off for weeks.

We cannot allow people to live in those, um, third world conditions.

We have to make sure that we're being the humanitarians that we're supposed to be, and we're taking care of people like we're supposed to be taking care of them.

So we have to find a mix, find a way to deal with all of the issues, but also lessen the constant disconnections that are happening in our state.

And man's inhumanity to man when they're doing that.

Okay.

Thank you both so much.

Uh, we're going to move on now that that's all the time we have for questions, we're going to now give each candidate 60s for a closing statement.

Josh Tolbert, we're going to start with you.

I am optimistic about our energy future.

Georgia is making really big decisions right now about energy.

And with big decisions come big opportunities.

But to realize those opportunities, we have to make the right decisions, to make the right decisions.

We have to put the right people in office.

There's a difference in wanting things to get better and knowing how to do so.

This job requires technical expertise.

Power should not be political.

It should not be Partizan.

It should be led by competence.

That's why I have found support on both sides of the aisle, all across the state.

This job is technical and it's time we send an engineer to do it.

I'm Josh Tolbert, an engineer running for PSC, and I'd love to earn your vote.

Thank you.

Sheila Edwards, it's your turn.

Okay.

I believe this is one of the most consequential races on the ballot.

The job of a commissioner is to regulate utilities to the public's interest.

It is not to design another nuclear power plant or to increase our dependency on coal.

Like my opponent wants.

You don't need another nuclear engineer.

You need a commissioner who will stand up for families, seniors and veterans.

And that's me.

I spent decades as a technical manager, public policy professional, and a community advocate, sticking up for the very people I'm asking to vote for me.

I didn't wake up yesterday and decided to do this.

I ran and won my primary in 2022, but the state took our races off the ballot because of a legal challenge.

But I'm back to finish the job.

So let me be clear about the choice.

My opponent, who is a Republican who loves data centers and coal ash and nuclear power plants, that's what he's offering to you.

And I'm offering to you my ability to work within an organization, work with various disciplines, and advocate for the very people I'm asking to vote for me again, I'm Sheila Edwards.

Sheila E for PSC.

Thank you so much.

Early voting starts Tuesday, October 13 and runs through Friday, October 30.

Election day is Tuesday, November third.

We thank the candidates and our panel of journalists.

We'd also like to thank the Atlanta Press Club and Georgia Public Broadcasting for arranging today's debate.

I'm Pamela Kirkland, thanks so much.