Georgia Power critic arrested for allegedly stealing trade secrets will not be prosecuted

An advocate and frequent critic of Georgia Power who was arrested for allegedly snagging a notebook with trade secrets will not be prosecuted.

In a decision filed last week in Fulton County Superior Court, District Attorney Fani Willis said there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute Patty Durand for stealing trade secrets, which is a felony. Surveillance footage from Oct. 21, 2025 shows Durand grabbed a notebook labelled “Georgia Power Trade Secrets” lying on a table during a Georgia Public Service Commission meeting break, flipped through it and put it in her purse. She voluntarily returned it to law enforcement that day.

Durand spent almost two days in jail. She has continued to criticize Georgia Power for keeping too much information private. She said two Democratic Public Service Commission victories over Republican incumbents show that voters are tired of “monopoly exploitation and abuse.”