(a) The Georgia Public Service Commission shall consist of five members to be elected as provided in this Code section. The members in office on January 1, 2012, and any member appointed or elected to fill a vacancy in such membership prior to the expiration of a term of office shall continue to serve out their respective terms of office. As terms of office expire, new members elected to the commission shall be required to be residents of one of five Public Service Commission Districts as hereafter provided, but each member of the commission shall be elected state wide by the qualified voters of this state who are entitled to vote for members of the General Assembly. Except as otherwise provided in this Code section, the election shall be held under the same rules and regulations as apply to the election of Governor. The Commissioners, who shall give their entire time to the duties of their offices, shall be elected at the general election next preceding the expiration of the terms of office of the respective incumbents. Their terms of office shall be six years and shall expire on December 31.

(b) In order to be elected as a member of the commission from a Public Service Commission District, a person shall have resided in that district for at least 12 months prior to election thereto. A person elected as a member of the commission from a Public Service Commission District by the voters of Georgia shall continue to reside in that district during the person's term of office, or that office shall thereupon become vacant.

(c) For the purpose of electing the members of the Public Service Commission, this state shall be divided into five Public Service Commission Districts described as follows:

District 001

Appling County

Atkinson County

Bacon County

Baker County

Ben Hill County

Berrien County

Brantley County

Brooks County

Bryan County

Bulloch County

Calhoun County

Camden County

Candler County

Charlton County

Chatham County

Chattahoochee County

Clay County

Clinch County

Coffee County

Colquitt County

Cook County

Crisp County

Decatur County

Dodge County

Dooly County

Dougherty County

Early County

Echols County

Effingham County

Evans County

Glynn County

Grady County

Irwin County

Jeff Davis County

Lanier County

Lee County

Liberty County

Long County

Lowndes County

Macon County

Marion County

McIntosh County

Miller County

Mitchell County

Montgomery County

Muscogee County

Pierce County

Pulaski County

Quitman County

Randolph County

Schley County

Seminole County

Stewart County

Sumter County

Tattnall County

Telfair County

Terrell County

Thomas County

Tift County

Toombs County

Turner County

Ware County

Wayne County

Webster County

Wheeler County

Wilcox County

Worth County

District 002

Baldwin County

Barrow County

Bibb County

Bleckley County

Burke County

Clarke County

Emanuel County

Glascock County

Greene County

Gwinnett County

Hancock County

Houston County

Jackson County

Jasper County

Jefferson County

Jenkins County

Johnson County

Jones County

Laurens County

Morgan County

Newton County

Oconee County

Putnam County

Screven County

Treutlen County

Twiggs County

Walton County

Washington County

Wilkinson County

District 003

Clayton County

DeKalb County

Fulton County

Rockdale County

District 004

Banks County

Bartow County

Catoosa County

Chattooga County

Cherokee County

Columbia County

Dade County

Dawson County

Elbert County

Fannin County

Floyd County

Forsyth County

Franklin County

Gilmer County

Gordon County

Habersham County

Hall County

Hart County

Lincoln County

Lumpkin County

Madison County

McDuffie County

Murray County

Oglethorpe County

Pickens County

Rabun County

Richmond County

Stephens County

Taliaferro County

Towns County

Union County

Walker County

Warren County

White County

Whitfield County

Wilkes County

District 005

Butts County

Carroll County

Cobb County

Coweta County

Crawford County

Douglas County

Fayette County

Haralson County

Harris County

Heard County

Henry County

Lamar County

Meriwether County

Monroe County

Paulding County

Peach County

Pike County

Polk County

Spalding County

Talbot County

Taylor County

Troup County

Upson County

(d) The first members of the commission elected under this Code section shall be elected thereto on the Tuesday next following the first Monday in November, 2012, from Public Service Commission Districts 3 and 5, shall take office on the first day of January immediately following that election, and shall serve for terms of office of six years and until the election and qualification of their respective successors. Those members of the commission elected thereto on the Tuesday next following the first Monday in November, 2014, from Public Service Commission Districts 1 and 4 shall take office on the first day of January immediately following that election and shall serve for terms of office of six years and until the election and qualification of their respective successors. The member of the commission elected thereto on the Tuesday next following the first Monday in November, 2016, from Public Service Commission District 2 shall take office on the first day of January immediately following that election and shall serve for a term of office of six years and until the election and qualification of his or her respective successor. All future successors to members of the commission whose terms of office are to expire shall be elected at the state-wide general election immediately preceding the expiration of such terms, shall take office on the first day of January immediately following that election, and shall serve for terms of office of six years.