Alabama Power's Grip Tightens: Rate Hearings Ditched

0:00Alabama rep, Mac Butler, dropped a bold bill this session, aiming to force the public service commission to hold public rate hearings every three years. It would cap Alabama powers return on equity at neighboring state's levels and tweak the profit formula to potentially save customers money. The house passed it almost unanimously in mid-March, looking like real change was coming. But spring break changed everything. When lawmakers returned, the Senate grabbed the bill on April 1st and gutted it completely. They ditched the hearings and caps, replacing them with a new secretary of energy under the governor to guide an expanded commission, no real. Oversight or savings were folks at home. Butler fought back, asking the House to send it to committee for fixes. His own colleagues, who backed him weeks earlier, shot it down fast. They rubber stamped the Senate's week version that same day and shifted to the governor, who signed it into law quick. This shows Alabama powers grip stays iron tight. Back in 2013, Commissioner Terry Dunn pushed for hearings and got labeled an enemy, hounded

1:04out by the same forces. Big utilities here don't face real checks, and lawmakers know the third rail when they see it. In the end, everyday rate payers lose again while the power stays with the powerful. Alabama politics rolls on, same as ever. That's your Birmingham News Today update, AI powered and always on.