Georgia EMC Applauds Senator Johnny Isakson

TUCKER, Ga., (March 10, 2010) - Georgia’s electric membership corporations (EMCs) thank Senator Johnny Isakson for his tireless efforts to preserve our employees’ retirement savings plans. Today, the U.S. Senate approved a “Jobs Bill” that included legislation authored by Senator Isakson that will help EMCs avoid the impossible choice of increasing electricity rates, reducing or eliminating retirement benefits altogether to pay for massively inflated short-term liabilities due to the unprecedented market conditions of 2008 and early 2009.

“Thanks to Johnny Isakson, the retirement benefits of Georgia’s 4000+ EMC employees are more secure today,” said Georgia EMC President/CEO A. Paul Wood.

“Georgia EMCs were not immune from the extraordinary investment losses in the financial markets, which significantly increased our required pension plan contributions. Without Senator Isakson’s bill, our obligations could double next year, making these critical benefits impossible to maintain.”

Wood also noted, “This is not a giveaway to anyone or a “taxpayer-funded bailout at all. Senator Isakson’s bipartisan bill simply gives all parties more time to make up for the losses of 2008 and early 2009, and puts new requirements and limitations on any entity taking part in the program.”

Georgia EMC is the statewide trade association representing the state’s 42 EMCs, Oglethorpe Power Corp., Georgia Transmission Corp. and Georgia System Operations Corp. Collectively, Georgia’s customer-owned EMCs provide electricity and related services to more than four million people, half of Georgia’s population, across 73 percent of the state’s land area.