Request Public Hearing on Alabama Power's Solar Tax
Alabama Public Service Commission
Want to go solar in Alabama? If Alabama Power is your utility company, we've got some bad news ...
Alabama Power charges a special tax on solar, up to 50% of your profits! It's one of the highest in the country at $5 per kW (per month!) of solar you install on your property.
This tax unfairly singles out solar homes and business.
It's unjust and unlawful.
But you can fight back.
Georgia Power tried the same shenanigans right on our doorstep. They were immediately rejected -- because what they were trying to do was WRONG.
Bur here in Alabama, our regulators work for the power company, instead of you. That's not the way it's supposed to work.
In April of last year, a complaint was filed to challenge this discriminatory tax right here in Alabama. Now this complaint is at a critical juncture.
The Alabama Public Service Commission could sweep this whole thing under the rug and allow Alabama Power to continue gouging its customers and blocking solar.
Except now you have a chance to stop them. Now you have a chance to stand up to the bully.
Demand better! Demand a public hearing!
You deserve better than being controlled by the monopoly utility company.
You deserve:
- The right to be heard by the Alabama Public Service Commission.
- The right to generate your own electricity on your own property without undue taxation.
- The right to transparency and integrity from your elected state officials.
Sign the petition, share it with your friends and family, and let's free the sun in Alabama!
Sponsored by
To:
Alabama Public Service Commission
From:
[Your Name]
We, the undersigned, call on you, the Alabama Public Service Commission, to hold a public hearing about the tax Alabama Power places on self-generated electricity (Docket #U-4226) because:
1. All Alabamians should have a voice in our energy future.
2. All Alabamians deserve transparency.
3. The tax on self-generated electricity is unduly stifling solar installations and job growth in Alabama in comparison to our Southern neighbors.
4. Our state has been identified as one of the country’s worst solar markets due to Alabama Power’s taxes.[i]
This is a crucial test case for the Public Service Commission. To date, you have operated behind closed doors, with little to no public discussion -- much less input -- regarding our future energy choices. The value of solar and how to price its contribution to the electric grid is being publicly debated all over the country. But not in Alabama.[ii]
We deserve a voice in our energy future, a transparent process at the Public Service Commission, and the right to be free from undue control by monopoly utility companies.
We ask you to take your responsibilities to the public seriously and we thank you for your consideration,
Citations:
[i] - https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/alabama-is-the-worst-solar-market-in-america#gs.qZ9fwVZz
[ii] - https://www.utilitydive.com/news/in-2017-solar-policy-debates-took-the-industrys-future-to-higher-ground/515716/