Echols: “I call on AGL to seed the marketplace.”

Submitted by Tim Echols

Tim Echols and his grassroots campaign collected 35% of the GOP Primary vote putting him in a run-off against John Douglas. Speaking to a reporter from the Florida Times-Union in Brunswick on Tuesday, Echols issued the following call:

"I think that it is important for our state's gas utilities to seed the marketplace for natural gas vehicles, as well. Technology is emerging where compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas can be made more readily available to both residential and commercial customers. I call on Atlanta Gas Light to find innovative ways to make more affordable natural gas available for commuters, local governments and for major fleet customers. States like California and Utah have adopted investment models that I believe can work in Georgia, and I pledge to work with AGL to find ways to support their investments, to find customers willing to be pioneers in this area, and to limit any subsidy coming from current customers. Georgia's air will be cleaner, and Georgian's who use natural gas in place of gasoline will save money."

Echols said he wants to continue the legacy of Baker and be Georgia's "conservative consumer watchdog" on the Commission.

"The PSC is the gatekeeper and makes sure the energy providers, phone companies and others regulated entities are held accountable," said Echols. "I intend to ask the hard questions to these companies and make sure consumers are protected."

Echols said that serving on the Public Service Commission is an incredibly complex job with a mountain of data that has to be analyzed before any hearing—a challenge he looks forward to. "The action of the PSC impacts your electric, gas and phone bill," said Echols. "Voters can count on me to scrutinize all rate requests before the Commission as well as to think about future ways to save money."

Echols has spent the last 15 years at the Georgia Capitol training young people and their parents on how the legislative process works. "Being involved in training others in how to impact public policy has prepared me for this position."

Tim Echols has been married to Windy Davis Echols of Roswell 27 years and they have seven children ranging from a 21 year old to a 10 year old. Echols has three degrees from the University of Georgia. He is the author of the book "Real Citizenship," a primer on grassroots political activism. The book is available on Amazon. Echols has been active in GOP politics assisting candidates all over the country. He grew up in Clayton County and attended public schools there before attending the University of Georgia.