The City of LaGrange the “City” filed a petition against Diverse Power Incorporated “DPI” with the Georgia Public Service Commission the “Commission”, alleging a violation of the Georgia Territorial Electric Service Act the “Act”, codified at OCGA § 46-3-1 et seq. “The Act establishes a plan whereby every geographic area within the state is assigned to an electric supplier.”1 “Once a service territory is assigned, an electric supplier shall have the exclusive right to extend and continue furnishing service to any new premises within that area.”2 In its petition, the City alleged that pursuant to the Act, DPI was not authorized to provide electric service to the Troup County High School ball field or the newly constructed Fine Arts Auditorium the “Auditorium” because both properties were within the City’s exclusive service territory. A hearing was held and the hearing officer assigned to the matter by the Commission issued findings of fact and conclusions of law in an Initial Decision. The hearing officer concluded that DPI was authorized to provide electricity to the Auditorium as well as to the ball field. The City filed an application for review of the Initial Decision with the Commission, and the Commission approved and adopted the Initial Decision. The City then filed its petition seeking judicial review of the Commission’s decision in the Superior Court of Fulton County, which affirmed the decision of the Commission. On appeal, the City challenges the trial court’s order. We affirm. When this Court reviews a superior court’s order in an administrative proceeding, our duty is not to review whether the record supports the superior court’s decision but whether the record supports the final decision of the administrative agency. We will affirm if “any evidence” on the record substantiates the administrative agency’s findings of fact and conclusions of law.3 We give “deference to the factual findings of the agency . . . and we may reject those findings only if they are clearly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record; or arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion.”4 “Neither our review nor the trial court’s review of the Commission’s decision is de novo.”5
It is undisputed that pursuant to the Act, the City has provided electrical service to Troup County High School the “School” since its construction in 1987. Patrick Bowie, who serves as the director of utilities for the City, testified that since the initial construction of the School, the City had installed additional metering points to service the School. The original meter recorded electric use by the School. Another meter was installed to service the scoreboard in 1989. The City installed a third meter to supply service to a trailer, the rates for which were calculated independently of the rates for the main School building. Bowie testified that another meter was installed to service the baseball pitching machines in 1990.
