MultiState Insider

Elections & Campaigns, Energy & Environment, Data Centers

Democrats Try to Flip Utility Commissions Over Energy Costs

November 1, 2026 | Billy Culleton

Voters in nine states will elect 14 officials to state utility commissions on November 3rd, with Democrats targeting partisan control in Georgia, Louisiana, Nebraska, and Arizona as energy costs and data center issues drive voter interest. Georgia's Public Service Commission is the most likely to flip to Democratic control in 2027 after Democrats won two seats in 2025 (Districts 2 and 3), and Democrats are now seeking to hold District 3 and win District 5 to secure a majority, with commissioners elected statewide rather than by district. Louisiana's Republican-controlled PSC will review cost allocation agreements for new energy generation supporting data centers after Meta invested $50 billion in Richland Parish and Applied Digital announced a $3.6 billion campus in Rapides Parish. Arizona Democratic candidates for the Corporation Commission want to investigate Arizona Public Service over claims that residential and commercial customers paid $587 million between 2023-2025 for costs associated with serving data centers. Nebraska's Public Service Commission could seat its first Democratic commissioner if candidate Wendy DeBoer wins the open District 2 race covering Omaha and eastern Douglas County.