‘I want to see lower rates in Alabama’: Britt presses Energy Secretary on lowering power bills

Sen. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) pressed Energy Secretary Chris Wright on lowering energy costs for Alabama families during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing reviewing the Department of Energy’s fiscal year 2027 budget request.

Britt opened her questioning by focusing on data center development and its impact on residential ratepayers.

“We have to keep that compute power advantage. That is critically important,” Britt said. “But in the larger conversation, we want to make sure that that advantage and the cost of that doesn’t actually fall on family’s power bills. Between 2021 and 2025, we saw residential power bills go up in this nation over 40%. It’s totally unacceptable.”

She noted that wholesale electricity prices in data center heavy regions surged over 250% during the same period, and credited the Trump Administration’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge and Energy Dominance Financing announcement with freezing rates in Alabama and Georgia.

“But ultimately, we’ve got to figure out how do we drill down and how do we actually lower rates, not just freeze them?” Britt said. “I want to see lower rates in Alabama.”

Wright outlined steps the department is taking to bring costs down.

“We worked with you and the Senate and the House to finally end the 34 years of wind subsidies and solar subsidies,” Wright said. “We’re focusing on, in the short term, how can we get more out of our existing grid? We’re upgrading hydro facilities. We’re upgrading natural gas facilities. We’ve restarted a nuclear power plant, which will have a ribbon cutting on very soon.”

Britt also raised grid cybersecurity and workforce development, citing work underway at Auburn University through SERC-3, and asked Wright to dedicate budget resources to grid security workforce needs. Wright confirmed the department’s commitment.

Sawyer Knowles is a capitol reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].