MONTGOMERY – Members of the Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee passed legislation on Tuesday expanding the Public Service Commission (PSC).
The bill expands the PSC from its current three seats to seven seats elected by the public.
The Power To The People Act, sponsored by State Sen. Clyde Chambliss (R-Prattville), adds four new seats to the commission and requires that all seven posts be elected by congressional district.
To create staggered terms, four commissioners would initially be appointed by the governor in July 2026, with two serving two-year terms and two serving four-year terms. Commissioners would run for office by congressional district beginning in November 2028 and, upon election, serve six-year terms.
A provision in the bill outlaws rate increases for the next three years — until a majority of the board is elected — but it continues to allow rate reductions to be voted on and implemented at any time.
The Public Service Commission already approved a two-year rate freeze for Alabama Power in December.
The Power To The People Act also creates a new cabinet-level secretary of energy, a position recently suggested by Republican gubernatorial candidate U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn), who would oversee the commission's administrative functions.
The Power to the People Act was amended into a House bill by State Rep. Mack Butler (R-Rainbow City) in the Senate committee on Tuesday. Due to the changes, the bill no longer includes a rate case hearing but includes a formal hearing “to examine specific issues relative to the rate making process and to provide greater transparency and direction to the establishment of base retail rates, with testimony provided under oath.” The hearing could be triggered by a vote of five of the seven commissioners in favor..
Chambliss said at the meeting that rate case hearings lead to “mandatory rate hikes.”
“A mandatory rate case every three years…equals mandatory rate hikes. That’s what that does. The reason it does that is because every cost of a company of us as individuals goes up over time so when you mandate that rate case and all of those costs are included in there, you’re going to have mandatory rate hikes,” Chambliss said.
Butler told 1819 News on Tuesday, “Both the House and Senate agree that the Alabama Public Service Commission is in need of reform, and we are actively working as a team to determine what the best path forward is for our state.”
"While there are elements of the Senate substitute that I strongly support and even worked to help develop, others are simply problematic. With that said, my intention is to continue working this bill through the legislative process and strike a compromise that brings the transparency and accountability needed at the PSC to lower power bills for Alabamians,” Butler said. “I am proud of the conversation we have brought to the floor of the house. This is a conversation that has never been had and the process is still moving. Today the bill was substituted in the senate but when it returns to the house we will have an opportunity to work on it further. I am optimistic still as the process is ongoing.”
The bill passed by the Senate committee on Tuesday is opposed by Energy Alabama, a clean energy advocacy group.
“Energy Alabama cannot support the Senate substituted version of HB 475 and we are calling on the Legislature to reject it. We will not support a bill that hands Alabama Power unchecked power to overrule voters. We have reviewed the substitute and we are calling it what it is: HB 475 in name only. The provisions that would have delivered real rate relief — mandatory and regular rate cases, and limits to Alabama Power’s profits — have been hollowed out. What remains are the parts of SB 360 that Alabama Power has wanted all along: the ability to overrule the people’s rightfully elected utility regulators,” Daniel Tait, executive director for Energy Alabama, said in a statement on Tuesday. The Energy Secretary provisions are still in this bill. That means a cabinet official answering only to the Governor, not elected by anyone, not accountable to ratepayers, will have effective control over the Public Service Commission’s agenda and personnel. The PSC is supposed to be an independent check on Alabama Power. This legislation turns it into a political subdivision of the executive branch. That is not a technical concern or a political dispute. It is a structural change that Alabama Power can exploit for decades. A commission that can be managed by a gubernatorial appointee is not a commission that will stand up to Alabama Power. Alabamians already defeated HB 392, which tried to strip voters of their right to elect PSC members. This bill accomplishes much of the same result through a back door, dressed up in the language of reform. We urge the Legislature to reject this bill and go back to a version that delivers what Alabamians actually need: real rate oversight, accountable to the people, and free from executive branch interference.”
The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration. Since it was amended in committee, it would have to go back to the House again to be passed if passed by the Senate.
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