Video obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution appears to show former Democratic Public Service Commission candidate Patty Durand taking a notebook of trade secrets Tuesday that belong to Georgia Power while the electric company’s lawyers and other employees were in the room.
Durand was arrested later that day and charged with theft of trade secrets, which is a felony. She was released Thursday on a $10,000 bond, Fulton County jail records show.
Durand’s arrest shook up Georgia politics with longtime Capitol observers shocked by the alleged incident, which occurred during a recess in a PSC hearing.
“I have no comment at this time other than to say please vote in the upcoming PSC elections,” Durand told the AJC on Thursday. “Vote for transparency. Vote for accountability and giving consumers the truth they deserve.”
Durand has long criticized Georgia Power for concealing information under the cloak of trade secret about various initiatives and requests of state regulators. She also spoke that morning along with dozens of others during the time for public comment.
The hearing focused on Georgia Power’s request to greatly expand its generation capacity to serve an influx of data centers. In her remarks on Tuesday, Durand took shots at the electric company and its powerful regulator.
Tuesday’s hearing broke for lunch shortly before noon. Roughly an hour later, Steven Hewitson, a lawyer with Troutman Pepper Locke, returned to the room and discovered his booklet with trade secret information was missing.
Credit: Kristi Swartz
Credit: Kristi Swartz
Troutman’s lawyers have represented Georgia Power at the PSC for decades. Trade secret is a designation for confidential business information that has not been made public.
Hewitson said he went to the PSC’s executive secretary and asked to review the video tapes of the hearing room during that time.
The AJC obtained the video from the Public Service Commission through a Georgia Open Records Act request.
A video clip shows Durand entering the room, passing directly by Brandon Marzo, another Troutman attorney. Georgia Power’s regulatory affairs director is by the door talking with a PSC employee.
Credit: Courtesy Photo
Credit: Courtesy Photo
Durand walks over to one of the empty chairs in the front row, sets her purse down and picks it up again. She approaches one of the two tables where lawyers for Georgia Power and the PSC staff typically sit. The video shows her picking up a glossy covered booklet and then hastily returning it.
At this point, the video showed Marzo had left the room, but the other two people remained standing just feet from the double doors. Four people, including a Georgia Power spokesperson, are shown sitting in the back of the room, conversing or looking at their laptop computer.
As Durand walks over to the second table, a member of the PSC’s information technology team walks in and stands by the podium, apparently testing whether it is working. Durand briefly stands at the second table and then walks away.
The video shows Durand as she turns around, walks back to the table, and picks up a booklet that is lying face down, revealing another copy underneath.
In the video, she begins flipping through the pages and walks toward the door, pausing at times.
As Durand approaches the room’s double doors, she turns around and looks across the room, then faces the back of the room before the video appears to show her putting the notebook in her purse and leaving.
A video from a different angle shows at least three notebooks with similar covers sitting on the table. It also shows two court reporters in the room.
A third video from outside the hearing room shows Durand walking down the hallway toward the exit doors that lead to the PSC’s lobby and elevator. She instead turns right and walks down a short hallway.
While not shown on camera, that hallway has three doors, one marked with a sign, “Authorized Access.” The other one is an exit door that says a card is required for reentry.
Another door goes to the office of the executive secretary.
Durand then exits through the doors and pushes the button by the elevator and continues walking and is off camera. She then gets onto the elevator.
PSC Chairperson Jason Shaw said Wednesday afternoon he’s still amazed that the incident happened in that room.
“We know that folks get passionate from time to time,” he said, later adding, “What happened to us (Tuesday) is a new low for us.”
A note of disclosure
This coverage is supported by a partnership with Green South Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners. You can learn more and support our climate reporting by donating at AJC.com/donate/climate.
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