Statement: Energy Alabama on PSC's Data Center Decision
Alabama regulators keep automatic approval process for data center contracts and hide key details from public view
October 6
Alabama Power's largest data center contracts can still take effect without a Commission vote, and the contract details stay out of public view.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Oct. 6, 2026). The Alabama Public Service Commission voted today to keep a process that lets Alabama Power's electricity contracts with the largest data centers, those expected to use 150 megawatts or more, take effect without a vote of the Commission.
The decision extends the review period from 10 days to 90 days, notably retaining the previous rule of automatic approval for Alabama Power data center contracts if the Commission fails to make a decision within 90 days. Energy Alabama pressed for a public vote on all applicable data center contracts in written comments this summer.
"For three decades, rules built for manufacturers let contracts take effect without a vote of the Commission. Data centers on this scale are a different animal," said Daniel Tait, executive director of Energy Alabama. "Ninety days is better than ten, but silence still counts as yes. A contract this big should never take effect because nobody voted. Alabamians deserve to see their regulators decide, in public."
The new process also hides many key details about data center projects from public view. Alabama Power must now file a public petition naming the data center customer and its parent companies, the city or county where the facility will be built, and the maximum amount of power it has contracted for. This is a small improvement over current practice.
But the full contract and the detailed analysis of how the deal pays for itself, including the cost of new infrastructure, will not be public. Full details will only go to Commission staff and the Attorney General's office.
The new process does not include a scheduled public hearing on the Petition for contract approval.
The Commission also declined to adopt a published large load tariff, Energy Alabama’s core recommendation. A large load tariff would put minimum contract lengths, minimum monthly bills, collateral, and exit fees in writing for every data center, so other customers are protected if a project shrinks, walks away, or collapses. Other states do this already but the Commission decided against such protections for Alabama. Alabama Power's parent company, Southern Company, tells its investors that its contracts carry minimum terms of at least 15 years for nearly all data centers, plus termination payments. If those protections are good enough for Wall Street, they should be written into rules Alabama customers can read for themselves.
"Customers are the ones who pay if one of these deals is priced wrong, so they ought to be able to read most details and participate in a public process," Tait said. "At the very least the Commission should publish a redacted contract on the public docket that protects every legitimate trade secret and still lets Alabamians check the math."
Alabama Power must file a tariff spelling out the new review process within ten days of the Commission's order. Energy Alabama will review that filing and the first data center contract submitted under the new rules, and will report what the public can and cannot see.
About Energy Alabama. Energy Alabama is a 501(c)(3), member-supported, non-profit organization dedicated to advancing Alabama’s clean and affordable energy future. Through education and advocacy, we empower Alabamians of all ages to embrace clean energy solutions. We champion policies that promote clean energy adoption, cultivate a skilled workforce ready to deploy these technologies, and believe in a future where clean energy is accessible to all.
