Brookhaven calls for rebates for Georgia Power customers
City asks PSC to require the refund of the utility’s multi-million windfall
Brookhaven, GA, Jan. 10, 2018 – The Mayor and City Council of Brookhaven are calling upon the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) to require Georgia Power to rebate all savings from the recently passed American Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to its customers.
“The intent of the federal legislation was not to make rich companies richer. It was meant to benefit all Americans across all economic strata. Georgia Power’s rate is already locked in for a few more years, therefore the utility should be required to rebate its windfall to its residential and commercial customers,” said Brookhaven Mayor John Ernst. “Not only is it the right thing to do, it would also create an economic stimulus here in Brookhaven and across the state of Georgia.”
The 2017 federal tax overhaul reduced the corporate tax rate from a maximum of 35 percent to 21 percent. Other states with utilities that are either passing through the tax savings to customers, or considering similar legislation, include: Oklahoma, Kentucky, Montana, Michigan, Ohio, and the District of Columbia.
“If you apply the 2017 tax overhaul to Georgia Power’s bottom line in 2016, the result would be approximately $111 million in savings. Georgia Power can’t reduce its own rate, so the PSC should mandate a rebate, retroactive to January 1,” said Mayor Ernst. “The people of Georgia deserve no less.”
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Media Contacts:
Burke Brennan
Director of Communications
404-637-0709
Burke.Brennan@BrookhavenGa.gov