How alabama’s segregationist past shaped today’s sky-high electric rates and clean energy struggles

A new investigative series reveals how Alabama’s troubled civil rights history directly contributed to the state’s current energy challenges, including some of the nation’s highest electricity rates and resistance to renewable energy development.

The connection traces back to the 1960s, when segregationist Governor George Wallace and Birmingham Public Safety Commissioner Bull Connor became national symbols of resistance to civil rights progress. After Wallace’s infamous “stand in the schoolhouse door” at the University of Alabama failed to prevent integration, he sought new targets to maintain political relevance. Alabama Power Company became one of those targets, setting in motion a complex political relationship that would shape the state’s energy landscape for decades.

This political maneuvering helped establish a regulatory environment that has proven costly for Alabama residents and businesses. Today, Alabamians pay some of the highest electric rates in the Southeast, while the state lags behind neighbors in adopting clean energy technologies like solar and wind power. The Alabama Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities, operates within a framework heavily influenced by these historical power dynamics.

The investigation, part of the “Wired for Profit” series, examines how Alabama Power’s political influence extends beyond rate-setting into environmental policy, renewable energy development, and pollution regulation. Understanding these historical roots helps explain why Alabama faces unique challenges in transitioning to cleaner, more affordable energy sources—issues that continue to impact both the state’s economy and environmental health today.