Georgia Power Co. v. Georgia Pub. Serv. Comm'n

Only electric suppliers, which owned lines in the assigned area of another electric supplier as of the date the assigned electric supplier was originally assigned the territory may assert corridor rights under O.C.G.A. § 46-3-4 4.

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

This appeal involves a dispute over electrical service for two office buildings near Leesburg, Georgia. In 2002, Georgia Power Company learned that Sumter Electric Membership Corporation intended, at the request of the building owners, to provide electricity to the buildings. Asserting that it was “the lawful supplier of electricity to the premises” under the Georgia Territorial Electric Service Act “the Territorial Act”,1 Georgia Power petitioned the Public Service Commission “PSC” to stop Sumter’s effort. The PSC rejected Georgia Power’s claim, and the trial court affirmed the agency determination. For reasons that follow, we reverse. The underlying facts are not in dispute. In 1973, the General Assembly enacted the Territorial Act for the express purpose of establishing and implementing “a plan whereby every geographic area within the state shall be either assigned to an electric supplier or declared unassigned as to any electric supplier.”2 The Act provided a mechanism for assigning the territories and authorized the PSC to make the assignments pursuant to specific statutory criteria.3

Georgia Power has been the electrical supplier in the area around Leesburg since 1975, when the PSC assigned the territory to it. The office buildings at issue here are located in Georgia Power’s service area and lie within 500 feet of an electrical transmission line that is also found within the service area. Although Georgia Power owned that transmission line in 1975, it sold the line to Oglethorpe Power Corporation in 1982.

Georgia Power Co. v. Georgia Pub. Serv. Comm'n

Only electric suppliers, which owned lines in the assigned area of another electric supplier as of the date the assigned electric supplier was originally assigned the territory may assert corridor rights under O.C.G.A. § 46-3-4 4.

Share with Email

Thank you for sharing!

Trending Stories

More From ALM

Subscribe to Daily Report