Former Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols, District 2
2010 – 2025
Tim Echols (R) served as the Georgia Public Service Commissioner from district 2 from 2010 to 2025. He was up for re-election in 2022 but the election was delayed until 2025.
Echols’ Website
While in office, Echols hosted a radio show on WGAU called “Energy Matters.”
Election Results
2025 Public Service Commission Election, District 2
Alicia Johnson (D) — 62.7%
Tim Echols (R) — 37.3%
1,559,270 votes were cast in total.
Signature Policies
Supporter of Nuclear Power: Commissioner Tim Echols was a strong supporter of the Vogtle nuclear power plant. He also supports the reprocessing and reuse of spent nuclear fuel (aka “MOX” fuel, “mixed-oxide”).
Opposed to the Clean Power Plan: Echols opposed President Obama’s Clean Power Plan in a 2015 op-ed published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Other Issues
Echols appears to have participated in an effort to gerrymander Patty Durand, his 2022 Democratic opponent, out of the district. This caused her to face potential disqualification even though she won the Democratic nomination. Durand called this attempt to avoid electoral competition “unseemly and wrong.”
Voting Record
Georgia Power Rate Hike – Echols voted on December 17, 2019 to raise fees for customers of Georgia power an average of $6 a month in 2020, then an additional $2 a month in both 2021 and 2022. This was done to help Georgia Power clean up coal ash pollution that they created while maintaining their profits. From 2022 – 2025, Echols voted for six rate increases, leading to much higher power bills for people across Georgia.
Rate Increase Town Hall Meeting
Echols attended a town hall meeting about Georgia Power’s requested fee increase in Athens, Georgia on October 17, 2019:
Listen to Echols explain why he supported the fee increase, starting at 51:33.