Heather Knight
Elmore Autauga News
Alabama Power customers will experience rate changes in 2025. That includes a 4.87% increase for residence. Announcements were made at yesterday’s yearly board meeting of the Alabama Public Service Commission (APSC).
The Alabama Public Service Commission (APSC) determines utility rates, including those for Alabama Power, through a detailed regulatory process designed to ensure fairness for both customers and the utility.
Those costs are determined by cost of services, operating expenses, infrastructure maintenance and cost, return to investors, fuel costs, salaries of employees and economic factors such as fuel cost, material prices, resource cost etc.
Periodic rate reviews are conducted to scrutinize the utility’s financial records and operations, during which utilities must justify their existing rates and any proposed changes.
The EAN has reached out to both APSC and Alabama Power and they responded that they aren’t able to give a statement at this time.
While Alabama Power isn’t able to give a statement at this time, they did publish a press release stating their reasoning for rate changes which is below.
Despite inflationary pressures on the energy industry, Alabama Power has worked to mitigate the impact of rising costs. Since 2017, the company has reduced its own expenses by over $100 million. This proactive approach has helped shield customers from larger bill increases, even as the costs of essential materials have surged dramatically. For instance, transformer prices have risen by 204%, power poles by 56%, and electrical wires by 134% over the last five years.
The 2025 rate changes follow two significant announcements by the APSC in 2024. In July a 2.04% rate reduction due to lower fuel costs. In December an additional 3.27% reduction, also tied to reduced fuel expenses.
While these rate reductions provide relief, Alabama Power has also made adjustments to address inflation and necessary investments in grid resilience and power generation. A Rate Stabilization and Equalization adjustment of 4.87% has been implemented to account for these factors.
Additionally, the APSC approved Alabama Power’s request to maintain a flat rate for Rate CNP-C in 2025, minimizing the impact of federal mandates and environmental compliance costs on customer bills.
For more information, customers are encouraged to visit Alabama Power’s website or contact their customer service team.
