Residential Solar Power
While this topic may not be a hot button issue to most people, it should be! For years other states have left Alabama in the dust when it comes to providing any sort of incentive for homeowners to save some money via solar power, this in a time where inflation and in particular electricity cost are shooting up and causing extreme hardships to the average Alabama citizen. In fact, if the legislators in Montgomery had done NOTHING on this matter, we would all be better off, but instead they have actually de-incentivized the average consumer from considering an investment in solar, by mandating a fee totaling $324 per year, for a meager 5-kilowatt rooftop solar array. This fee was proposed in 2012 by Alabama Power and approved by the Alabama Public Service Commission. (Interesting side comment, my opponent has been the recipient of campaign donations from Alabama Power).
The fee is currently under a legal challenge in federal court, which would not have even been necessary had effective leadership been demonstrated by our elected representatives in Montgomery.
Even Mississippi has enacted bi-partisan legislation to encourage and assist homeowners in acquiring solar systems, recognizing it as a benefit to the voters, to the environment, as well as providing relief to the overall power grid. Alabama ranked 49th in the country in residential solar power generation last year. Mississippi was 48th but will rise significantly after the latest changes are implemented.
And as the below article at AL.com states " Alabama's rules show big-time protectionism of Alabama Power to the clear detriment of regular folks"
