McDonald, who served 20 years as a state Representative, was appointed to the Commission in June 1998 by Governor Zell Miller to fill a vacated post and then re-elected in a special mid-term election in November 1998. He held the seat until 2002. In 2008 and in 2014, Georgians again elected McDonald to serve on the Commission.
McDonald has a deep knowledge of the energy industry. He puts that knowledge to work as a member of the Electric Committee of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and as an executive member of the Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition.
During his time on the Commission McDonald has presided over the advent of solar power in Georgia resulting in the state becoming one of the top five fastest growing in the nation for solar energy. He has accomplished this through a conservative and thoughtful free-market approach without putting upward pressure on rates and without state-sponsored financial incentives. In 2013, Georgia had virtually no solar power on the grid. McDonald was able to garner support to add 525 megawatts of solar energy to the portfolio of the state’s investor owned utility. Currently, utility companies are erecting solar power facilities that will provide a total of 3,600 megawatts of solar energy by the end of 2024. McDonald has also supported the construction of solar facilities at six of Georgia’s military bases, contributing to national security and helping to protect the bases from future base closure proposals.
McDonald is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a BBA in Business. He also served six years in the Georgia Air National Guard. He owns businesses in the private sector and is married to Shelley McDonald. He was married to the late Sunny Nivens McDonald for 45 years. He has a son, Lauren, three grandchildren, and four step-grandchildren.
