Jason Shaw, a Lakeland native and former four-term state representative, was appointed to the Public Service Commission by Gov. Nathan Deal in 2019 and elected statewide in 2020. Now the commission’s chairman, he has consistently backed Georgia Power’s build-out plans while defending rules he says make large data-center users pay their own way.
Office & background
- PSC Commissioner, District 1 (2019–present); chairman
- Georgia House of Representatives, District 176 (2010–2018)
Campaign finance — who funds them
$175,726 raised · $7,357 cash on hand (Shaw for PSC Inc)
- $8,000Beasley, Darrell (Hazelhurst, GA)
- $7,000Bond, James (Macon, GA)
- $6,700Rayonier Advanced Materials (Jacksonville, FL)
- $5,000Weaver, Paul (Ringgold, GA)
- $4,000GFB STATE IMPACT FUND (Macon, GA)
- $2,500James Golden (Columbia, SC)
Finance as of May 7, 2026 — latest GA Ethics filing (2026 Apr 30 CCDR).
Source: Georgia Government Transparency & Campaign Finance Commission (PeachFile)
Where they stand
Defends the PSC framework requiring large data-center users to cover the generation and transmission costs of serving them — including a January 2025 rule mandating long-term contracts — and argues Georgia “does it right” on data centers.
Source: Atlanta News First — Shaw defends data-center growthVoted with the commission to approve the rate plans behind six bill increases from 2022–2025, then on July 1, 2025 joined a unanimous 5-0 vote to freeze base rates through at least 2028 — a freeze that excludes fuel and Hurricane Helene storm-recovery costs.
Source: Grist — Georgia power rates frozen, for nowVoted for the 2025 Integrated Resource Plan, which authorizes up to 4,000 MW of renewables and 1,500 MW of storage by 2035; clean-energy groups criticized the plan as adding too little renewable capacity relative to its fossil expansion.
Source: AJC — PSC OKs fossil-heavy energy planHis vote for the 2025 IRP delays coal-unit retirements into the 2030s, adds substantial new natural gas for data-center demand, and continues nuclear at Vogtle — a mix environmental groups criticized as locking in fossil reliance.
Source: Utility Dive — IRP keeps coal online for data centersVoted for the unanimous December 2023 decision approving a ~6% rate increase to recover about $7.56 billion in remaining Vogtle costs from ratepayers, framing the reactors as carbon-free power for decades.
Source: GPB — regulators approve Vogtle cost recoveryHelped approve a return-on-equity band letting Georgia Power earn up to 11.9% (above the ~9.5% national average), which the 2025 freeze locks in. In June 2025 advocacy groups filed an ethics complaint alleging he and others showed bias by praising the freeze before the hearing (an allegation).
Source: Georgia Recorder — ethics complaint over rate-freeze praiseFrames the 2025 freeze he voted for as inflation relief; advocacy and academic analyses note Georgia carries some of the nation’s highest energy burdens and say the IRP lacks a targeted affordability program. No Shaw-specific position on disconnections was found.
Source: Sierra Club — 2025 energy-plan gradesHis votes for the 2025 IRP and Georgia Power’s ~$16 billion expansion prioritize reliability and data-center demand while extending coal and expanding gas; he frames nuclear as “carbon-free.” Groups petitioned the PSC in 2026 to reconsider.
Source: AJC — groups urge PSC to reconsider $16B expansion