Our Mission: To spread awareness about how our elected leaders, in particular our Georgia Public Service Commissioners, are failing to respond to the climate emergency, and to encourage thousands of Georgia citizens to rise up and reach out to them demanding climate action.
It’s Up to Our Elected Georgia Leaders to Require Them to Take Action. Georgia Power is a regulated monopoly, and our 5 Georgia Public Service Commissioners already have the power and the authority to require the company to generate our electricity from clean and renewable sources. Our legislators can also pass laws to require Georgia Power and other electric utilities to transition away from fossil fuels. But our elected leaders are failing us, too.
It’s Climate Crunch Time and Georgia Power is Failing Us. The message from the worldwide scientific community is clear. We must rapidly transition away from burning fossil fuels to generate electricity and toward clean and renewable energy in order to avoid increasingly catastrophic climate impacts. Sadly, Georgia Power, the monopoly electricity provider for much of the state, is doing the opposite: increasing its reliance on fossil fuels and only slowly adopting clean energy.
We Can Create Momentum for Action! Most of our elected leaders might take action if they knew two things:
1. Cleaning up the electric grid is a critical first step to prevent true climate catastrophe that will impact all future generations.
2. Georgia citizens will vote for climate champions.
By raising our voices, we can compel action. Dedicated climate activists and scientists have provided us with the information and pathways to act quickly - in as little as 5 minutes!
Take 5 to Reach 5!
Our main goal: Send in thousands of public comments!
Our 5 Georgia Public Service Commissioners can chart Georgia’s path to clean energy, or they can vote for a continued reliance on planet-warming fossil fuels. During a multi-month hearing process (Integrated Resource Planning IRP) beginning in March 2025, Georgia Power will seek approval from the Commissioners for its 20-year energy sourcing plan. Their plan relies heavily on fossil fuels, and intervening parties will present their alternative clean energy recommendations.
Can we really make an impact? Yes! Public comments are incredibly important. The Commissioners have a history of granting almost all of Georgia Power's requests to increase their use of dirty fossil fuels to generate electricity. To justify their actions, a Commissioner recently said this about Georgians: "They are not concerned whether its generated with coal-fired gas. There are pockets of concerns, and we hear those, but they're just small pockets."
All public comments will be officially included in the docket and will be accessible to media and others who can report on the growing numbers expressing their support for clean energy. The mass of voices is key - thousands of public comments would get local, and possibly national media attention, increasing the pressure on Commissioners to vote for clean energy solutions!
We must show them that they are wrong! During hearings in May and June, intervening parties will argue that investing in wind, solar, battery storage, and demand-side management programs will benefit all Georgians. They will bring in experts who will testify that this will save ratepayers money, create thousands of clean energy jobs and stimulate our economy, provide resilience during extreme weather events, and not pollute our air and water and warm our planet! But they won't be successful unless regular Georgia citizens also raise their voices.
Clean energy advocates have made it easy to take just 5 minutes or less to raise your voice in support of clean energy! Click on the button below to make your comment now!
The Commissioners need to know that LOTS OF PEOPLE CARE ABOUT THE CLIMATE AND CLEAN ENERGY
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Our Georgia Public Service Commissioners
JASON SHAW - CHAIRMAN
TIM ECHOLS -VICE CHAIR
TRICIA PRIDEMORE
FITZ JOHNSON
LAUREN "BUBBA" MCDONALD
Electricity Generation, Climate Change, and You
In September 2024, the RiseUpForCleanEnergy team was thrilled to receive an Atlanta Youth Climate Action Microgrant! The grant was awarded to us by the Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience, partnering with 21st Century Leaders, and it was funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. This grant helped us bring two exciting projects to life: this website and a video exploring the connection between electricity generation and climate change.
Creating these projects has been an incredible journey—challenging, rewarding, and a lot of fun! Students from high schools, colleges, and universities across Georgia joined forces to make it happen, united in the desire to convince our leaders to take critical climate action.
We hope that the video and website fire you up to join the fight for clean energy in Georgia. Together, we can make a difference—let’s Rise Up! 🌍✨
Hey students! If you can find a few extra hours in the coming months, we’d love your help. Please sign up to help promote the video and Action Alerts at your school.
Together, we can make this huge! The more people we reach, the louder our voice becomes. When we show up in big numbers, we can push our leaders to take real action on the climate crisis. Let’s make a difference—together! 🌍✨
Many thanks to the following for making this video and website possible:
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