FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 27, 2026
Energy Alabama Releases Utility Affordability Platform to Lower Alabama Power Bills
Montgomery, AL — As Alabama lawmakers convene for the 2026 legislative session, Energy Alabama has released a Utility Affordability Platform outlining six policies that can be enacted now to directly reduce what Alabama Power customers pay on their monthly electric bills.
High power bills continue to strain household budgets and businesses across the state. Energy Alabama estimates that, taken together, the policies in the Utility Affordability Plan could save customers as much as $4.8 billion on their electric bills over the next decade.
“High utility bills hit every Alabamian, no matter your ZIP code, income, or politics,” said Daniel Tait, Executive Director of Energy Alabama. “This plan lays out six steps lawmakers can take right now to cut bills, tighten oversight, and make sure customers pay for electricity, not inflated profits, political spending, and other add-ons that have nothing to do with keeping the lights on.”
The Utility Affordability Platform includes six policy proposals:
- Reduce utility profits and open the books by requiring real oversight before rate increases and reducing guaranteed utility profits to levels commonly used in other states.
- Ban political spending on customer power bills, ensuring shareholders, not ratepayers, cover the cost of lobbying, political consultants, and advertising.
- Require new data centers and large industrial loads to pay their own way, preventing infrastructure costs from being shifted onto residential and small business customers.
- Use state-backed financing instead of Wall Street debt by deploying the state’s Energy Bank to lower borrowing costs for energy infrastructure.
- Repeal taxes and fees on customer-owned energy, promoting competition and lowering costs over time.
- Put approximately $150 million in unused federal energy-efficiency funds to work now, permanently reducing bills by lowering household energy use.
Individual policies within the plan could deliver immediate and long-term savings, including up to $400 million per year from increased oversight and transparency and an estimated $500 million in total energy savings from deploying idle energy-efficiency funds.
Energy Alabama is encouraging constituents to engage their state legislators during the session and ask what steps they plan to take to address rising power bills, while pointing lawmakers to the Utility Affordability Platform as a clear roadmap for action.
“Alabamians deserve affordable, transparent utility bills,” Tait added. “This plan gives policymakers a responsible way forward that prioritizes customers and long-term savings.”
The full Utility Affordability Platform and opportunities for public engagement are available at:
https://energyalabama.org/affordability/.
About Energy Alabama
Energy Alabama is a 501(c)(3), member-supported, non-profit organization dedicated to advancing Alabama’s clean energy future. Through education and advocacy, we empower Alabamians of all ages to embrace clean energy solutions. We champion policies that promote sustainable energy adoption, cultivate a skilled workforce ready to deploy these technologies, and believe in a future where clean energy is accessible to all.
