Former Georgia PSC Candidate Arrested for Alleged Theft of Trade Secrets

Patty Durand, a former Democratic candidate for Georgia’s Public Service Commission (PSC), was arrested Tuesday by Georgia Capitol Police and charged with felony theft, according to Georgia Public Broadcasting. Authorities allege Durand took confidential Georgia Power documents during a PSC hearing concerning the company’s request to add nearly 10,000 megawatts to the state’s power grid, much of it for data centers.

Video footage reportedly shows Durand taking booklets from desks and placing them in her bag. The motive for allegedly taking the materials has not been clarified. Georgia Power is cooperating with investigators.

Durand has been an outspoken critic of Georgia Power’s contracts with data centers and recently founded a watchdog group, Georgians for Affordable Energy. She has publicly opposed building new natural gas plants over renewable energy investments and criticized the PSC for allowing heavily redacted trade-secret agreements.

Following her arrest, Georgia Republican Party Chairman Josh McKoon called Durand’s actions hypocritical, noting her prior criticism of the PSC and positioning as a “watchdog.”