National climate campaigns are targeting Public Service Commissions — Alabama should take notice

By Elizabeth Gianini

Artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and large-scale data centers are driving a surge in electricity demand across the United States. States that can provide reliable, affordable power will attract the next generation of investment, jobs and economic growth.

That reality makes one often-overlooked government body increasingly important: the Public Service Commission (PSC).

Most Alabamians rarely think about their state utility regulators. Yet few government bodies have a greater impact on their daily lives or on the future of our state’s economy. PSCs oversee electricity and natural gas utilities, approve major energy infrastructure projects and determine how states plan for future power needs. Just as importantly, they help determine what families and businesses pay for electricity every month.

As electricity demand grows from artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and data centers, the decisions made by these commissions will increasingly shape economic development and energy affordability.

That is why proposals to dramatically change how Alabama elects its PSC members deserve careful scrutiny.

Alabama is increasingly well-positioned to attract the next wave of data center and artificial intelligence infrastructure investment in the United States. The state already hosts major technology investments, including large data-center campuses operated by Google in Jackson County and Meta in Montgomery. These facilities represent billions of dollars in private investment and demonstrate that Alabama can compete for the kinds of projects that are driving the digital economy.

The policies adopted by the PSC can determine whether Alabama continues to attract these investments or whether companies look to other states with the infrastructure and regulatory certainty needed to support the energy demands of the modern digital economy.

Some lawmakers have suggested expanding the commission to seven members elected from congressional districts, rather than maintaining statewide elections. While the goal may be well-meaning, such a change could unintentionally make these races more vulnerable to outside political influence.

Recent events in other states show exactly how that can happen.

In Georgia last year, a typically low-profile PUC election suddenly became the focus of a national political campaign. Advocacy groups and national political organizations poured millions of dollars into the race, funding digital outreach, organizing efforts and advertising. Reports indicated that more than $6 million flowed into the contest, including support connected to national political organizations such as the Democratic National Committee. The surge of outside spending helped elevate what had once been an obscure regulatory race into a statewide political battle and ultimately resulted in the election of two Democratic commissioners for the first time in more than two decades.

That concern is already being raised in Alabama. During the recent debate over proposals to change how commissioners are selected, state leaders warned that these races are increasingly attracting national political attention. Alabama Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger noted that lawmakers must be mindful of well-funded outside groups attempting to influence state regulatory policy, pointing to what happened in Georgia as a cautionary example.

Across the country, national climate and environmental advocacy groups are increasingly targeting PSC elections because controlling these boards allows them to influence energy policy directly. Commissioners decide whether natural gas plants are built, how renewable mandates are implemented and whether utilities can expand the infrastructure needed to support economic growth.

These decisions affect whether states can attract major economic development opportunities such as AI data centers, advanced manufacturing facilities and other industries that depend on reliable and affordable electricity.

Changing Alabama’s system from statewide elections to smaller district races could make these commissions easier — not harder — for well-funded national activist groups to target. A statewide election requires candidates to build broad support across an entire state. District races, by contrast, can often be influenced by concentrated spending in a much smaller geographic area.

Before making such a fundamental change, policymakers should ask a simple question: Would this reform strengthen Alabama’s ability to protect affordable electricity and economic growth, or would it make our regulatory system more vulnerable to outside political campaigns?

The answer could shape Alabama’s economic trajectory for decades to come.

In the race to build the energy infrastructure that will power artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and the next generation of American industry, the states that protect reliable and affordable electricity will win the jobs and investment of the future. That is why Alabama should take notice before turning its PSC into the next national political battleground.

Elizabeth Gianini is the president of the Regulators RoundTable, Inc. a 501(c)(3) dedicated to strengthening and advocating for conservative leadership in state regulatory policy. The organization connects public service commissioners, policymakers and industry innovators to advance energy solutions grounded in reliability, affordability, and innovation.

_{*The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of EnergyPlatform.News.}