Harvard Club of Georgia

Sunday Supper - April 14 (6-9PM)

With Guest: Patty Durand - A Concerned Energy Activist

Sunday Suppers are casual gatherings where new ideas and stimulating conversation are the main fare. The guest speaker leads an informal discussion based on their work or topic of interest. Reservations are open to current Harvard Club of Georgia members and Harvard Business School Club of Atlanta their guests on a first-come, first-served basis. Attendance is limited to 12 people so that the conversation is more personal and happens around the dinner table.

The dinners are Pot-luck, so please bring a dish that you like that you can share. The April dinner location will be at the home of Robert Hahn.

If you are interested in hosting a Sunday Dinner, please contact Robert ( rahahn5@gmail.com ).

COST: Free, but you must register in advance.

RSVP: Open to first 12 HCG and HBS Club of Atlanta members

SPEAKER: Patty Durand

In 2019 Patty Durand watched the Georgia Public Service Commission approve a new Georgia Power rate plan that was well known to significantly raise electric bills for small users, who tend to be low- and moderate-income families. After meeting with one of the commissioners to find out why he voted for it, and learning that he did not understand the details of the rate plan, Patty concluded that things were much worse at the commission than she realized. Neither that commissioner, nor any of the commissioners, were taking their responsibility to regulate a monopoly utility in the public interest seriously, instead preferring what they call a constructive regulatory relationship in which they accommodate Georgia Power requests as a routine matter of business.

Patty decided to leave her 10-year career as leading the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative to unseat that commissioner who is now her opponent: Tim Echols. Patty believes that Georgians deserve a commissioner who will meet the state mandate to set just and reasonable rates and protect customers from monopoly overreach.

Patty’s energy is indefatigable: her anger at how the Ga PSC operates has given her momentum that has carried her through almost three years of campaigning and waiting due to the election being placed on hold due to litigation. She continues to speak with groups, write opinion pieces, blogs and newsletters, and post hard-hitting commentary on social media platforms to raise awareness that things are not ok at the Ga PSC.

Prior to running for office Patty founded Cool Planet Solutions LLC, a consultancy helping commissioners, utilities, and businesses in the energy space understand how to engage consumers, a similar role to her responsibilities as president and CEO of the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) which she led for 10 years. SECC is a nonprofit focused on research and education of consumers and grid modernization.

Patty has a B.S. in Business Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA and an MBA from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA.

Patty lives in Conyers Georgia with her husband and loves to hike Arabia Mountain, read, travel, garden, and write. You can see some of Patty’s writing at pattyforpsc.com under Patty’s pages, where she ‘throws down’, writing content that is not found anywhere else exposing the problems at the most important state agency in Georgia: the Public Service Commission.