McNeil Unveils Data Center Accountability Plan

Democratic Public Service Commission candidate Sheila McNeil is proposing a regional review system for large data centers in Alabama, arguing that the state should welcome new investment without leaving families and small businesses to bear the costs.

McNeil, the Democratic nominee for PSC Place 2, unveiled what she calls the Alabama Data Center Accountability Plan as the debate over massive data centers continues to grow across the State.

“I am not against data centers. I am against approving them before Alabama knows what they will cost us,” McNeil said.

“We should welcome investment, technology and good jobs—but we cannot allow the costs of electricity, water, roads and other infrastructure to be shifted onto Alabama families and small businesses.”

The proposal would use Alabama’s existing Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) system as a model. MPOs coordinate transportation planning across Cities, Counties and other local lines. McNeil wants a similar regional approach when officials consider large data centers whose demand for power, water and other services can extend well beyond the city or county where they are built.

Under McNeil’s proposal, large data center projects would face regional review before final approval. The process would examine:

• Electricity and grid capacity, including transmission, generation and reliability;
• Ratepayer impacts, including who pays for required utility upgrades;
• Water availability, including drought conditions and long-term regional demand;
• Infrastructure and transportation needs;
• Environmental and community impacts, including noise, emissions and emergency services;
• Cumulative impacts of multiple data centers in the same region;
• Jobs, wages and workforce development, including opportunities for Alabama's skilled trades.

The proposal builds on positions McNeil has taken throughout her campaign.

In an earlier interview with ALPolitics.com, McNeil said the PSC would play a key role in reviewing utility contracts and the effect of large data centers on Alabama’s power grid. She argued that the companies behind such projects should “pay their fair share” and should not become an environmental or financial burden on surrounding communities.

A key part of McNeil’s new plan calls for a utility cost-allocation study for major projects. The goal, she said, would be to determine whether residential and small-business customers could wind up paying for infrastructure built mainly to serve large industrial users.

“Growth should pay for growth,” McNeil said.

“If a data center requires major new transmission, generation, substations or other infrastructure, the public deserves to know who is paying for it and who is assuming the risk.”

Alabama Power maintains that its current policies already prevent that type of cost shifting. The utility says data centers and other large-load customers must pay the full cost of serving their operations, including dedicated facilities, delivery upgrades and customer-specific capacity needs. The company also says its agreements include minimum bills and contract terms designed to protect other customers if a large project is cut back or abandoned.

The Alabama PSC has also said it is working to protect existing ratepayers and grid reliability as data center demand grows. The Commission began taking a more active role in the issue last year as large projects spread across the Southeast.

McNeil’s plan would go beyond electric rates. It calls for regional maps that would classify areas as appropriate, conditional or restricted for data centers based on available power, water, roads and other infrastructure.

That approach would address one of the central concerns in the growing data center debate: a project’s effects do not always stop at a City or County line.

Data centers have become a major political issue in Alabama.

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Doug Jones recently called for an “immediate moratorium” on new data center projects until Alabama develops a statewide plan. Jones has also called for a ban on non-disclosure agreements between developers and local governments and wants independent community advisory boards for approved projects.

Data center critics have raised concerns about electric demand, water use, noise, diesel backup generators, pollution, land use and the large tax breaks sometimes used to attract the projects. Those concerns have surfaced in Alabama and in nearby Tennessee, where a proposed Lawrenceburg data center has drawn objections from residents worried about water demand, downstream effects, noise and emissions.

Jobs have also become a point of dispute.

Data centers can require thousands of construction workers while they are being built, but permanent staffing can be much smaller. Meta’s Huntsville facility, for example, had about 1,200 skilled workers during peak construction and is expected to support more than 300 operational jobs. Meta’s Montgomery project was first announced as an $800 million investment with about 100 permanent jobs. Its planned investment later grew beyond $1.5 billion while the expected permanent workforce remained just over 100.

The debate has grown more intense as artificial intelligence drives demand for new computing capacity. Critics have questioned whether the huge public and private investment in AI infrastructure will produce enough lasting jobs and economic growth to justify its costs. Supporters counter that the centers represent billions of dollars in capital investment and provide infrastructure needed for cloud computing, AI, banking, health care and other digital services.

McNeil said her proposal is not meant to shut the door on new technology or investment. Instead, she argues that clear rules could give developers, utilities and local governments more certainty before billions of dollars are committed.

“Companies want certainty. Communities want certainty. Ratepayers want certainty,” she said.

“Alabama can compete for investment without writing a blank check.”

McNeil is also calling for economic incentives to be tied to measurable results, including actual capital investment, permanent jobs, local hiring, worker training, infrastructure improvements and benefits to the surrounding community.

“Alabama should be open for business—but not open for exploitation,” McNeil said.

“We can embrace technology and economic growth while protecting our water, our electric grid, our workers and the people who pay the bills.”

The proposal puts McNeil firmly in the growing debate over how Alabama should handle the data center boom. Unlike Jones’ call for an immediate statewide moratorium, McNeil’s plan would establish a review structure aimed at allowing projects to move forward when their regional costs and benefits can be justified.

McNeil is the Democratic candidate for Alabama Public Service Commission Place 2. Her campaign has focused on utility rates, transparency, infrastructure and giving ratepayers a larger voice in PSC decisions.

For more information on McNeil and her campaign, visit https://mcneilforpsc2.com.