For the second year in a row, Georgia lawmakers will try to ease Dalton Utilities’ path to big loans, helping the company cover its costs for the Plant Vogtle nuclear project if funds run dry.
State Sen. Chuck Payne, R-Dalton, filed a bill Wednesday that would lift restrictions on municipal-owned utilities. Currently, those groups can’t issue revenue bonds for electric transmission assets without approval from the city’s voters on a referendum. Payne’s bill does away with the referendum requirement.
Instead, only the utility board, the city council and a local Superior Court judge would need to approve the plan for a bond. Payne told the Times Free Press the bill helps Dalton Utilities grow.
“In the long run,” he said, “this is good for Dalton citizens. It turns it back to local control. The mayor and city council can make decisions that they need to make, as far as issuing revenue bonds for growth and need.”
Payne said Dalton Utilities executives have wanted this flexibility for several years, but “the powers that be” have held them back. He declined to name those forces. But since last year, Dalton Utilities has received help from one of the strongest allies in the capitol: Georgia Power.