Study of the impacts of regulations affecting the acceptance of Integrated Community Energy Systems: public utility, energy facility siting and municipal franchising regulatory programs in Georgia. Preliminary background report

Abstract

The authority to regulate public utilities is vested generally in the Public Service Commission. The Commission is composed of five members elected to six-year terms by the general electorate. Commissioners must be free of employment or pecuniary interests which are incompatible with the duties of the Commission. The Commission is the only agency that may exert regulatory control over public utilities. The legislature has delegated no regulatory authority to local government. Except for the powers incident to granting a franchise and its normal police powers, municipal corporations do not have any role in the supervision of public utilities. The Commission's general supervisory authority does not extend to public utilities owned or operated by municipal corporations. The jurisdiction of the Commission extends to several specific public utilities, including gas or electric light and power companies. Public utility regulatory statutes, energy facility siting programs, and municipal franchising authority are examined to identify how they may impact on the ability of an organization, whether or not it be a regulated utility, to construct and operate an ICES.