A bipartisan coalition of Alabama lawmakers has unveiled the Alabama Affordability Protection Plan, a three-bill reform package designed to protect consumers from rising utility costs, strengthen energy regulation oversight, and limit political influence, without increasing taxes or rates.
Supporters of the plan said Alabama’s economic success has been driven in large part by stable, competitive energy prices. The legislation, they said, is intended to preserve that advantage by establishing a clear policy principle: Alabamians should not be required to subsidize private development, and utility policy should prioritize fairness, transparency, and measurable public benefit for existing customers.
According to lawmakers, the package strengthens consumer protections to keep utility rates below the national average, ensures economic incentives deliver real value, and reforms the integrity and accountability of Alabama’s utility oversight system.
Together, the bills are designed to ensure that families and businesses are not burdened with higher utility bills driven by large private energy developments, that economic development incentives are accountable and aligned with public benefit rather than corporate advantage, and that utility regulation is insulated from special-interest influence through increased expertise, transparency, accountability, and consumer protection.
Bill 1: Prohibit cost shifting from data centers to Alabama businesses and families
The first bill is sponsored by Lance Bell, R-Pell City, and Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham.
The legislation would require data centers to pay the full cost of any grid or infrastructure upgrades needed for their operations. It would also prohibit those costs from being passed on to existing utility customers.
“Alabama families and businesses should never foot the bill for someone else’s private profit,” Bell said. “This bill ensures fairness and transparency in our energy system.”
“Alabama families come first,” Rafferty said. “We are making sure our state’s existing utility customers are taken care of and ensuring that energy costs remain fair and predictable for everyone.”
Bill 2: Replace data center incentives to align with other businesses and industry
The second bill is sponsored by Andrew Jones, R-Centre, and Leigh Hulsey, R-Helena.
The proposal would reform data center incentives to require measurable public benefits and to align them with incentives offered to other economic development prospects. Any recovered incentive dollars would be reinvested into communities.
“We need incentives that work for all Alabamians—not just big tech,” Jones said. “This bill ensures that taxpayer-supported incentives deliver real value to our state and don’t drive up utility costs for hardworking Alabamians.”
“This bipartisan legislation is designed to deliver real results for Alabamians,” Hulsey said. “We must grow our economy and protect our citizens at the same time.”
Bill 3: Reform utility oversight and protect consumers from special interests
The third bill is sponsored by Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, and Chip Brown, R-Hollinger’s Island.
The legislation would restructure the Alabama Public Service Commission, prohibit utilities from using consumer funds for lobbying or political activity, and require annual public meetings at which regulated utilities would present information on rates, costs, and other factors affecting customers and the state.
The bill would move the Public Service Commission to an appointment-based model, with commissioners appointed by the governor, the Speaker of the Alabama House, and the president pro tempore of the Alabama Senate, and confirmed by the Alabama Senate. The proposal includes new qualification requirements for commissioners, with an emphasis on expertise, transparency, accountability, and consumer protection. Supporters noted that appointment-based systems are used in 40 states.
“Our goal is simple: make the Public Service Commission accountable to Alabama families, not special interests,” Singleton said. He added that Alabama is one of only ten states that still elects its Public Service Commission.
“This legislation restores trust in utility oversight and ensures Alabama residents are protected from political or outside influence at a time when energy is more important and complex than it has ever been,” Brown said.
