Alabama Power advertising costs became the focus of an unexpected move by state regulators on Tuesday, when the Alabama Public Service Commission asked the utility to stop recovering a portion of its promotional spending from ratepayers well before a new state law takes effect.
Commission Requests Early End to Customer Billing
During a meeting that coincided with a busy election day, PSC President Cynthia Lee Almond introduced a motion not listed on the agenda. It asks Alabama Power to agree to exclude all advertising expenses from retail rate setting through the end of 2028, when a recently passed law will bar such costs from customer bills.
Almond said she saw no reason to wait until January 1, 2029, to begin the process. Commissioners Jeremy Oden and Chris Beeker IV approved the request after a brief discussion. The measure would be reflected in the utility’s Rate Stabilization and Equalization filings for 2027 and 2028, assuming the company consents.
Alabama Power, the state’s largest electricity provider, serves a territory covering roughly two-thirds of Alabama. Under current rules, the monopoly is permitted to bill customers for half of its non-public safety advertising expenses. The company has recently run television commercials promoting a rate freeze it announced late last year amid criticism over rising electricity prices.
Advertising Spending Tops $6 Million
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission filings show Alabama Power spent more than $6 million on general advertising last year, or about $4 per customer. The filings do not make clear how much of that amount was passed through to customers or how much would be affected by the new prohibition.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Daniel Tait, executive director of Energy Alabama, welcomed the commission’s action, saying it would benefit customers who have faced some of the highest electric bills in the country in recent years. He said that once in place, Alabama would have one of the strongest customer protections in the nation on this issue.
Leadership Changes Loom for Commission
The request comes near the end of the current commission’s tenure. In January, the panel will expand from three members to seven. Outgoing Gov. Kay Ivey has appointed four new commissioners, including the PSC’s first two Black members.
Oden and Beeker will leave the commission in January after losing Republican primaries. Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry will take Oden’s Place 1 seat, while former state auditor and PSC Commissioner Jim Zeigler will replace Beeker in Place 2. Zeigler returns to the commission 48 years after leaving it; he served one term from 1975 to 1979, a period marked by soaring energy costs and political fights over electric rates between Alabama Power and then-Gov. George Wallace.
Almond will be the only remaining member of the current commission. The new seven-member body will be overseen by the state’s first secretary of energy, who will be selected by Gov.-elect Tommy Tuberville. That secretary will set the commission agenda, and overruling the secretary will require a vote of five of the seven commissioners. Tuberville has not yet announced his pick. The only statutory requirement is that the secretary must have experience in utility regulation, energy policy or a related field.
