Could Georgia Power’s Budget Billing Be Overcharging Georgians? It’s Time for Answers

By State Representative Viola Davis (D-Stone Mountain)

(592 words)

Electricity is not a luxury; it's a lifeline. But could Georgia Power's plan, referred to as "budget billing" be quietly charging families, seniors and the disabled more than they actually owe?

That's the question I began asking after reviewing my own electricity bills over the past year. What I found raised enough concern that I have now requested an independent third-party investigation and study by the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC).

Georgia Power's budget billing program is marketed as a way to help families stabilize their monthly payments. Instead of fluctuating charges that spike during summer and winter, customers pay a fixed "budgeted" amount each month based on estimated usage.

In theory, this should make household budgeting easier. But after a year of tracking my own payments, I found something troubling: the fixed amount I was charged was often hundreds of dollars higher than my actual service cost, and by the end of the year, I had paid over $1,500 more than the total value of my electricity usage.

While one example doesn't prove a statewide problem, it does raise serious questions:

• How are these "budget" amounts calculated?
• Does Georgia Power earn interest or financial benefit from holding customer overpayments?
• Are low-income and elderly customers, underserved and under-resourced areas disproportionately affected?
• And most importantly, are Georgia families being overbilled without realizing it?

These are questions only an independent investigation and/or study can fully answer.

Each Georgia Power bill includes not just the base electricity charge, but also a series of additional costs, environmental compliance fees, municipal franchise fees and sales tax,which collectively add 15 - 20 percent to monthly bills.

For customers on budget billing, this means they may be paying inflated amounts each month that go well beyond their actual usage. In my own case, several months showed actual service costs below $400, while I continued to pay $767 - a significant gap for any household.

Budget billing may be convenient for the company, but for families already struggling to cover rent, food and medicine, that extra money each month can make the difference between stability and crisis.

That's why on October 7, 2025, I hand-delivered a letter to the PSC requesting an independent third-party investigation and study of Georgia Power's budget billing system.

This study should determine whether:

1. Georgia Power's budget billing practices result in systemic overcharges;
2. Fees and surcharges significantly inflate customer costs;
3. These impacts disproportionately harm underserved and under-resourced communities;
4. Corrective policies or regulations are needed to ensure fairness and compliance with consumer-protection principles.

In addition to calling for oversight, I am drafting legislation, the Georgia Fair Utility Billing and Consumer Protection Act,to strengthen transparency and consumer protections. This bill will propose:

• Mandatory reporting and auditing of budget billing practices;
• Interest-bearing credit or refunds for overpaid balances;
• Independent public disclosure of surcharge and fee impacts on consumers.

As legislators, our duty is not only to write laws, but to protect the people who send us to the Capitol, especially when they face rising costs for basic necessities.

Electricity keeps our homes running and our families safe. It should not come with hidden overcharges or confusing billing structures that burden the very people trying to play by the rules. That's why I'm asking for answers, and I'm asking the Georgia Public Service Commission to join me in finding them.

Because every dollar matters, and every Georgian deserves fair, transparent and accountable billing.

Rep. Davis includes the letter she sent to the Georgia PSC regarding her request for an independent study, which can be found here.

*Editor's note: a photo of Rep. Davis is included below.

Representative Viola Davis represents the citizens of District 87, which includes a portion of DeKalb County. She was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2018 and currently serves on the Defense & Veterans Affairs, Health, Insurance, Natural Resources & Environment and Urban Affairs committees.

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