PSC candidate McNeil pushes Alabama data center accountability plan

Sheila McNeil, the Democratic nominee for Alabama Public Service Commission Place 2, has unveiled her "Alabama Data Center Accountability Plan" to impose stricter regulations on data center proposals. Her plan calls for a regional review process before major data center projects receive approval, aiming to bring together communities, utilities, workers, businesses, and regulators to examine demands on electricity, water, and infrastructure, as well as costs and risks to utility customers. McNeil stated, "I am not against data centers. I am against approving them before Alabama knows what they will cost us," advocating for growth to pay for growth rather than shifting costs onto families and small businesses.

The plan proposes using the state's existing Metropolitan Planning Organization model to coordinate large-scale data center development across city and county lines. It also includes establishing regional maps to identify appropriate, conditional, or restricted areas for data centers based on resource availability and calls for a utility-cost allocation study to prevent unfair subsidies by residential and small-business customers. McNeil supports "performance-based economic incentives" that tie data center development to capital investment, local job creation, workforce training, and community improvements.

Data centers have emerged as a contentious issue in Alabama's November general election. McNeil's Republican opponent, Jim Zeigler, has proposed his own reforms, including a registry of all data centers, cost-allocation rules, and mandatory public notification. Republican gubernatorial nominee U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville has vocally supported data center development, claiming opposition is driven by China. In contrast, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Doug Jones has called for a one-year moratorium on data center permitting to study local impacts and develop transparent development guidelines.