A circuit court judge said that Alabama’s utility regulators can still decide on price increases through closed-door sessions, which appears to be different from what is typically done in other states.
A lawsuit brought by Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of Energy Alabama, a nonprofit organization that supports renewable energy sources, was dismissed in the ruling on Monday.
Two 2024 meetings when the public service commission determined how Alabama Power, the state’s biggest energy provider, should modify prices in response to fluctuations in global fuel prices were closed to the monitoring group.
According to the lawsuit, the refusal violates both regional and local laws.
Following a hearing in June, Montgomery Circuit Judge Brooke Reid issued a one-page ruling against the environmental advocates. According to her, there had been no significant infringement on the group’s rights. Reid stated during the June hearing that respect should be shown to the commission’s interpretation of its own guidelines.
In a statement released on Monday, Southern Environmental Law Center senior attorney Christina Tidwell criticized Reid’s choice.
According to Tidwell, Alabama Power customers will remain excluded from the fuel cost proceedings, whereas other Southern states have significant public participation.
Rules put forth by the Alabama Public Service Commission regulate how Alabama Power can adjust energy rates to counteract erratic increases in fuel prices.
According to those regulations, in order to make sure that fuel price adjustments are fair and reasonable, the public has the right to hear testimony and take part in the procedures.
According to the lawsuit, since the commission’s current regulations were formed in 1981, there have only been two public hearings on gasoline costs.
In contrast, the complaint claims that the Georgia Public Service Commission, which oversees Alabama Power’s sibling company, has conducted at least 26 formal public fuel cost proceedings.
Fuel prices in Alabama skyrocketed rapidly during the 2008 financial crisis, prompting the state commission’s counsel to call the last public meeting.
They contended that even though prices have changed more than 15 times since that modification 16 years ago, the commission hasn’t officially started a new proceeding, therefore they aren’t required to solicit public feedback.
State attorneys also contended that since the commission posts monthly fuel price reports online and rate increases are open to public appeal, the public has several avenues for involvement even in the absence of public meetings.
Alabama Power is a division of Southern Company, a business based in Atlanta that, according to yearly shareholder filings, made $4.4 billion in 2024. Approximately 1.5 million of the approximately 5 million people that live in the state are served by Alabama Power.
Municipal or cooperatively owned utilities provide electricity to the majority of Alabamans.
According to the latest recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average Alabama Power customer paid around $159 per month in 2023, while the statewide average was roughly $132 per month.
An email request for comment regarding current pricing was sent to Alabama Power on Wednesday afternoon, but it was not answered.
Daniel Tait, executive director of Energy Alabama, said in a statement following the finding that the result was disheartening for Alabamans who are forced to pay the exorbitant fossil fuel costs on their Alabama Power bill.
