For some time now, there has been a debate over Alabama Power’s Rate Energy Cost Recovery, and the lack of transparency that goes into setting those prices. 

The Rate ECR is the amount that Alabama Power is allowed by the Public Service Commission to charge Alabamians for the fuel used to run power plants. While Alabama law does state that any person or group impacted by utility rates can petition to be involved in proceedings with the commission involving rates, no one outside of Alabama Power and the PSC have been involved since 2008, though rates have fluctuated since then.

The PSC argues the reason for this is that the adjustments made to Rate ECR do not count as a proceeding as established by Alabama law, and so there is no room for other groups to be involved. 

Energy Alabama, a nonprofit advocating for clean energy in Alabama, attempted to intervene in the process, and, after being rejected twice by the PSC, filed an appeal with the Montgomery County Circuit Court. 

“In a time of rising electric bills, the Public Service Commission’s lack of transparency only raises more questions when the people deserve answers,” said Daniel Tait, Energy Alabama’s executive director. 

When asked by al.com, the PSC declined to comment, citing active litigation. Representatives from Alabama Power, according to al.com, directed attention towards a 2020 op-ed written by Daniel Stevens, the executive director of Campaign for Accountability, a non-profit watchdog organization focused on exposing unethical, corrupt and negligent practices. 

The op-ed directs criticism at the Energy and Policy Institute, which calls itself a watchdog group, but Campaign for Accountability described it as a PR tool of the cleantech marketing group Tigercomm. Notably, the EPI is not a registered non-profit. 

Tait is a research and communications director for the EPI, though he has said that there is no connection between his work for the EPI and his work with Energy Alabama. 

The appeal from Energy Alabama is not the only noticeable litigation involving Alabama Power and the PSC. In October, a judge denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging monthly fees placed on Alabama Power customers who utilize solar panels.

According to Alabama Power, the purpose of the “Capacity Reservation Charge” is to cover the costs of keeping electricity on standby for customers when their solar panels are unable to produce enough energy. 

The lawsuit, filed by homeowners and the Greater-Birmingham Alliance to Stop Pollution, alleges that the PSC failed to follow federal laws banning electric companies from creating discriminatory fees not tied to the costs of producing electricity. 

Alabama top stories in brief

New social studies course of study approved for the first time since 2010

• Several groups were involved in the process of crafting the changes and spoke favorably of them, including Eagle Forum, the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, the Alabama Holocaust Commission and the Alabama Department of Archives. 

• The changes to the course of study will create a greater emphasis on state history, so that Alabama history is taught from third to fifth grade, instead of only being taught in the fifth grade as it is currently.

• The changes will also require that the history of the Holocaust is taught in all schools. 

Alabama Attorney General part of joint lawsuit against investment firms

• Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, along with 10 other Republican state attorney generals, filed a joint lawsuit in late November against BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street, accusing them of artificially lowering coal production and raising consumer energy costs in an effort to lower global carbon emissions. 

• The lawsuit also accuses the three groups of working together to accomplish this goal, effectively creating a syndicate, and violating federal antitrust laws. 

• BlackRock and State Street both argued that they acted in investors’ interest and said the lawsuit was baseless. 

• The states involved in the lawsuit are Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Escambia prison could be begin construction in early May 2025

• The Escambia County prison would be the second of two new prisons approved by the state legislature; the other prison, located in Elmore County, is already under construction.

• The Escambia prison may have to be constructed in two phases in order to fund it. The original budget of $1.2 billion for both prisons was mostly used with the contract for the Elmore prison, which wound up costing $1.08 billion.

• Currently, the total cost for the Escambia prison is unknown. Alabama Department of Corrections representatives have said that releasing the costs of the prison could impact the ongoing bidding for construction. 

This year marks the highest release rate for Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles

• The Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles had a parole grant rate of 20% at the end of the 2024 fiscal year, which is the highest rate since 2019. 

• This still falls below the ABPP’s recommended grant rate for the year, which was 83%. 

• Activists and legislators working for prison reform credit the changes to mounting public pressure on the ABPP, including an ongoing lawsuit filed in 2023 that accused the prison system of engaging in modern day slavery through the inmate labor system. 

• While the overall grant rate rose, the discrepancy between paroles granted between white and Black inmates increased from white inmates having a 3% higher release rate to a 7% higher release rate. 

• A key point in the 2023 lawsuit was that inmates with a low risk assessment had a lower release rate than inmates with a medium risk assessment; while medium risk inmates maintained their higher release rate, the two grew closer, moving from a difference of 3% to a difference of 2%. 

Announcements:

• Due to the holidays, both The Breathing Room and The Longleaf Hiker will have slightly different schedules this month. The Breathing Room will come out on Dec. 18 and The Longleaf Hiker will be published on Dec. 20. 

• There will be no Alabama Roundup on Dec. 30. 

Like our work? Then support it!

Want to get early access to columns, unique newsletters and help keep The Sunrise News active? Then support us on Ko-Fi!

Support our work!