Zeigler Responds to $4.2 Billion Federal Loan to Alabama Power
“If Big Tech creates the power shock, Big Tech should fund the power solution”—Jim Zeigler
From the Zeigler campaign
MOBILE, Ala. — Jim Zeigler, candidate for Alabama Public Service Commission Place 2, today issued a response to the federal government’s announcement of a $4.1 billion loan to Alabama Power — part of a record $26.5 billion package explicitly tied to soaring electricity demand driven by Big Tech data centers.
The loan, announced February 25 by the U.S. Department of Energy, will fund new natural gas power plants, transmission lines, and infrastructure upgrades for Alabama Power and its Georgia sister company. Federal officials confirmed the expansion is driven primarily by data center demand. Any customer savings from the loan must be approved by the Alabama Public Service Commission.
“The federal government just confirmed in writing what I have been saying throughout this campaign: Big Tech data centers are driving the expansion of Alabama’s power grid — and someone has to pay for it. Right now, that someone is you.”— Jim Zeigler, Candidate for PSC Place 2
Zeigler noted that even President Trump, in his State of the Union address the night before the loan announcement, called on tech companies to fund their own power infrastructure. Trump announced a ‘ratepayer protection pledge,’ stating that tech companies building data centers should provide their own power — a position Zeigler has championed throughout his campaign.
“President Trump and I are in complete agreement on the principle: if Big Tech creates the power shock, Big Tech should fund the power solution. The question is whether the Alabama PSC will have an independent watchman willing to hold the line for ratepayers — or a commissioner who looks the other way while the bill gets passed to Alabama families.”— Jim Zeigler
Zeigler served on the Alabama Public Service Commission from 1975 to 1979 — the only candidate in this race who has been elected to the PSC by Alabama voters.
Jim Zeigler is a candidate for Alabama Public Service Commission Place 2 in the May 19, 2026 Republican Primary. He served two terms as Alabama State Auditor and is the only candidate in this race elected to the PSC by Alabama voters, having served from 1975–1979. Zeigler’s campaign slogan is “Putting PUBLIC Back Into the Public Service Commission.”
For more information on Zeigler and his campaign, visit Zig4Alabama.com or follow him on social media.
