Moultrie attorney running for PSC

Lori Glenn

May 03, 2008 10:08 pm

— MOULTRIE — Local attorney Rick Collum, 38, is looking to bring a little more green into consumers’ wallets and into the way Georgia is powered if voters elect him as public service commissioner for the Southern District for the next six years.
The election will be decided in the primary, since Collum and incumbent Doug Everett, 70, a Republican, are the only candidates for the Southern District.
“According to him and other sources, he was supposed to retire at the end of this month,” Collum said of Everett. “He is 70 years old, and I’m just concerned whether he’s going to have enough energy to put in the effort it takes to continue with the Public Service Commission.”
In the 1880s, the Georgia Public Service Commission (GPSC) started off as the Railroad Commission of Georgia. It now sets rates charged by telecommunications, gas and electric companies. GPSC allowed a rate hike a couple of years ago. Collum said he would have the rates stay the same, and he would see more affordable renewable energy sources in the mix.
“There’s no way that solar or wind or landfill gas or other renewable energy sources are going to sustain all of our power needs. Basically, my platform is to integrate renewable energy sources with the traditional energy sources that we already have,” he said. “Doug’s position has been to increase natural gas versus renewable energy sources.
“Really if you think about it, it’s a very conservative approach now. In the 1970s, you looked at solar power and wind power as being a liberal philosophy, but now the safest and most affordable method and conservative viewpoint is to integrate that with traditional energy sources. That’s my platform. That’s the bottom line. The only way for me to effect that change is for me to be on the Public Service Commission,” Collum said.
Natural gas prices are going through the roof, he said. Currently, more than 1.6 million people in Georgia use natural gas. Atlanta Gas Light Corporation and Atmos Energy Corporation plus 12 smaller companies supply natural gas. As more competition moved in, prices were supposed to go down.
“I haven’t seen that happen yet,” Collum said, adding that he is concerned with the explosive nature of natural gas.
Collum said he would encourage Georgia Power to submit a long-range energy plan to the GPSC that incorporates renewable energy to the extent that it is fiscally and physically possible.
“We know that Georgia will not sustain its power on solely renewable energy. We’ve got to have some traditional sources, but there’s got to be a balance that’s achieved,” he said, advocating an all-hands-on-deck approach. “So often you jump on one bandwagon, and that bandwagon is loaded with money. When it’s going, you jump on another one and load it up with money, and the consumers aren’t the ones benefiting. Those are my issues.”
The GPSC establishes and enforces quality service standards. One of the GPSC’s primary responsibilities is facility inspection. Collum said he would cut back on the use of nuclear power (and subsequently the production of nuclear waste) by encouraging the integration of renewable energy sources.
“My biggest concern is nuclear waste. The contractor who is supposed to be disposing of nuclear waste is not doing what they’re supposed to be doing. I think it’s incumbent on Georgia Power to have a long-range energy plan that incorporates renewable energy sources. The only way to have Georgia Power or these other entities do that is to be on the commission to help guide them to do that,” he said. “I know Doug is a big proponent of natural gas. That’s his big thing.”
The GPSC has no say-so over the fact that a coal plant is being built in rural Early County, Collum said, but once it’s up and selling power, it will. The commission will regulate its rates and check its safety features, he said.
Collum was the son of a single mother who never earned more than $11,000 in a year, he said. She struggled to pay for propane and electricity to power their home.
“I’ve always been interested in the Public Service Commission because of the rising cost of energy,” he said, adding he also is concerned for the safety of the public. “You hear about folks when there’s a gas leak and they’re injured or they die, and you just want to make sure they’re able to afford power so they can live and still stay safe in their homes. ... I may be Republican and conservative, but I’ve got a heart.”
Collum volunteers his time as board member for the local chapter of the American Red Cross. He’s been hands-on in assisting with disasters through his years of service. Collum recounted the time last year when he went to Ashburn to help people after a tornado hit. He helped feed hot meals to people who lost power during the storm.
“For the same reason I volunteer for the Red Cross is the same reason I want to be on the Public Service Commissioner, because there has to be a balance between getting people services and having them be affordable. Fortunately, as an attorney, I can actually do something,” he said.
Another example of Collum’s discontent with Everett centers on a past proposition to loosen up late fees on utilities. If a customer is $10 behind on paying his utilities, he will get charged a late fee. The proposition would have raised that amount to $30 to give consumers a little break. Everett voted against that, Collum said.
“My concern is the people who can’t afford a $10 bill can’t afford a late fee because they have economic troubles. Now, with the rising cost of everything, they should have increased that $10 to $30 so they would not have been charged the late fee if they hadn’t exceeded (the $30 mark),” he said.
In transportation, the GPSC certifies and enforces regulations for household goods movers, luxury limousine carriers, buses, motor carriers and non-consensual towing. However — as Collum was quick to point out — the GPSC has no control over gas prices at the pump. GPSC also regulates telecommunication with the exception of broadband or wireless service. GPSC, through its telecommunications division, provided hearing aids to many people who couldn’t afford it.
Collum is the founder of The Collum Law Firm, P.C. He opened an office in Moultrie in 2004. He began his professional career as a deputy United States marshal and later taught law at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Brunswick. He served as law clerk to Chief Judge W. Louis Sands in the Middle District of Georgia.
Collum volunteers his time as an associate magistrate judge in Colquitt County, a special assistant attorney general for the State of Georgia and teaches Sunday school at Autreyville Baptist Church and serves as the chairman of the church’s finance committee.
He was born in Henry County and met his wife, Donna, while attending college at Valdosta State University. They have two children, Danielle and Jared.

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