Dive Summary:
- The Public Service Commission (PSC) in Alabama is approaching a decision this September to review the profit formula of Southern Company’s Alabama Power, sparking a political fight involving a private investigator and the hacking of an environmental group's website.
- Commissioner Terry Dunn wants to curtail Alabama Power’s above-average return of 13%-14.5% for every dollar of equity invested in the electricity system to 10%, which is closer to the national norm. Dunn has also sought under-oath testimony from the utility to divulge company information.
- Dunn reported to the police that a private investigator followed him around after he called for a formal hearing. One of Dunn's staffers said the same investigator trespassed on his property. Furthermore, a day after the Alabama environmental group, GASP, criticized the regulatory process, the group reported to the FBI that its website was hacked. Alabama Power says it does not condone the actions of either the private investigator or the hacker.
From the article:
Dunn and others suspect someone staged a fake environmental protest outside a final hearing in July to discredit him. A video shows the protesters wearing hats, sunglasses and facemasks, making them difficult to identify. One carried a sign that endorsed Dunn, a toxic political statement in deeply conservative Alabama. None of the environmental groups involved in the hearing recognized the protesters.
At the meetings, one point was not discussed. PSC President Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh said on May 8 that officials would not consider moving away from the formula, known as the RSE. Cavanaugh did not respond to requests for an interview.