Jim Zeigler, candidate for Alabama Public Service Commission Place 2, responded on Monday to the federal government's recent announcement of a $4.1 billion loan to Alabama Power.
The loan is part of a record $26.5 billion package tied to soaring electricity demand driven by data centers, according to Zeigler.
The loan, announced February 25 by the U.S. Department of Energy, will fund new natural gas power plants, transmission lines, and infrastructure upgrades for Alabama Power and its Georgia sister company.
Federal officials confirmed the expansion is driven primarily by data center demand. Any customer savings from the loan must be approved by the Alabama Public Service Commission, according to Zeigler.
"The federal government just confirmed in writing what I have been saying throughout this campaign: Big Tech data centers are driving the expansion of Alabama's power grid — and someone has to pay for it. Right now, that someone is you,” Zeigler said.
Zeigler noted that even President Donald Trump, in his State of the Union address the night before the loan announcement, called on tech companies to fund their own power infrastructure. Trump announced a "ratepayer protection pledge," stating that tech companies building data centers should provide their own power — a position Zeigler has championed throughout his campaign.
"President Trump and I are in complete agreement on the principle: if Big Tech creates the power shock, Big Tech should fund the power solution," Zeigler said. "The question is whether the Alabama PSC will have an independent watchman willing to hold the line for ratepayers — or a commissioner who looks the other way while the bill gets passed to Alabama families."
Zeigler served on the Alabama Public Service Commission from 1975 to 1979.
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