Birmingham Residents Raise Concerns About Planned Data Center and Potential Power Bill Impacts
A data center and substation are planned near Birmingham’s Oxmoor Valley, prompting homeowner Kirsten Allen to question the project’s effects on local resources and utility bills. Alabama’s new data center law requires large facilities to sign special contracts with Alabama Power and cover incremental electricity costs, but residents and advocates say greater transparency is needed to ensure consumers are protected.
A proposed data center and substation near Birmingham’s Oxmoor Valley have raised concerns for homeowner Kirsten Allen, who says residents were notified through their homeowners association and worry about impacts on neighborhood resources, property values and utility costs. The development is part of a broader expansion of large data centers across Alabama seeking connections to the electric grid.
A state law taking effect Oct. 1 requires data centers using at least 150 megawatts to enter large-load contracts with Alabama Power and obtain approval from the Alabama Public Service Commission. PSC President Cynthia Almond said contracts must assign incremental project costs to the data center and that the commission is considering ways to improve transparency, while Alabama Power said additional data center revenue should put downward pressure on rates. Allen remains skeptical because proposed contracts and commission deliberations are not fully public, and Energy Alabama called for stronger proof that ordinary customers will not bear the costs.