Legislation to make the Alabama Public Service Commission an appointed rather than an elected body will not get a vote this legislative session, Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, said Wednesday.
Lawmakers will continue to study how to address Alabamians’ rising energy costs, he said.
In a written statement, Gudger said the original House bill reforming the PSC, which regulates utility providers in the state, moved too fast and without providing the public enough information about why it was needed.
“After listening to our constituents back home, there is no scenario in which this bill, HB392, can garner the votes necessary to pass,” Gudger said. “So, it is time to turn our attention to other matters this session and continue working to provide Alabamians with the efficient, effective, fiscally responsible, and conservative state government that they want and deserve.”
He said power bills “are placing a real and growing hardship on working families, on our elderly, and on Alabama businesses” and “the right of the people to choose the public officials who govern their lives is sacred and must not be surrendered.”
Lawmakers earlier this month introduced the Alabama Affordability Protection Plan legislative package that included the PSC bill and two others that target data centers and utilities.
They quickly passed a House committee but stalled on the House floor two weeks ago. House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, said the votes were delayed because support in the Senate was not guaranteed.
A comment from Ledbetter’s office about Gudger’s statement was not immediately available Wednesday afternoon.
Supporters of the bill in the House had argued that an appointed Public Service Commission could lead to more qualified regulators, better policies and, eventually, lower energy costs.
Gudger on Wednesday said the death of the PSC bill does not mean the Legislature will not address the very real issues facing Alabama on the energy front.
Like his Republican colleagues who supported the House bill, Gudger said there are well-funded interests outside Alabama who want to gain influence over the state’s power grid.
“Together – my colleagues in the Alabama State Senate, my friends in the House of Representatives, Speaker Ledbetter, our Governor, and all the people of Alabama — we will build a plan that preserves our rights, protects our families, and secures a strong future,” Gudger said in the written statement.
Rep. Chip Brown, R-Hollinger’s Island, is sponsor of the original House bill.
“I think Pro Tem Gudger is focused on the same thing that the speaker and I have focused on in the House and that’s providing accountability and affordability,” Brown told ADN Wednesday evening. “You know, the Public Service Commission — there’s something wrong when you haven’t had an open public hearing on rate increases since 1982. So our effort from the very beginning has been to try to shine light on the Public Service Commission and try to reform it so that we can hopefully bring utility costs down for our constituents back home.”
He said he’s still hopeful to get legislation passed in the session that is now at its halfway point and expected to end by mid-April.
Gudger also told reporters Wednesday afternoon energy rate regulation is needed this session. Exactly what that will look like is to be determined.
“It is very important that we do it this session because the longer we wait, the longer that infiltration (by outside interests) happens from outside our borders,” he said. “I truly believe that that is there, I’ve seen the documentation…”
Rep. Mack Butler, R-Rainbow City, last week filed House Bill 475. It would require the PSC to hold annual rate hearings and prohibit utilities from including the costs of giving grants, lobbying or advertising in their rate increases. It awaits a committee vote.