Alabama electric customers got welcome news Tuesday when the Alabama Public Service Commission voted to approve Alabama Power’s recent proposal to hold several major adjustable rate factors at current levels for two years.

In that proposal, the company laid out commitments to keep several bill-impacting adjustment factors in place.

On Tuesday, PSC President Cynthia Lee Almond, Commissioner Jeremy Oden, and Commissioner Chris Beeker III even went a step further by adopting an amendment during the meeting to ensure the two-year window of certainty isn’t undermined by the utility’s formula-rate process.

They also approved a major piece of the implementation around the company’s Natural Disaster Reserve, which takes the fund from a negative balance, to now being shored up to prepare for future storm season emergencies.

Members of the PSC called the two-year flat rate plan “welcome relief” from the progressive energy politics of previous administrations.

“Alabama Power’s announcement that it will seek to keep utility rates flat for the next two years brings welcome relief at a time when all of us are struggling with the inflation hangover created by the Biden administration and woke initiatives like the Green New Deal,” Commissioner Chris Beeker said.

“Every member of the Public Service Commission sent strong signals that any request for a rate increase would be a non-starter because too many families across Alabama are already finding it difficult to make ends meet, and consumers need relief. We appreciate the fact that our message was received, understood, and accommodated.”

President Trump and Alabama lawmakers have made energy dominance and lower household costs a defining theme of the current administration. That includes expanding domestic production, cutting red tape, and increasing access to affordable and reliable energy.

Commissioner Jeremy Oden said that Tuesday’s vote is a further indication that “Biden’s war on American energy is over.”

“Alabama Power’s commitment to keep rates flat for two years is a win for ratepayers,” Oden said.

“But undoing Biden’s radical and reckless policies takes time, and I appreciate Alabama Power’s responsiveness to the Public Service Commission’s immediate and primary objective: providing much-needed relief to Alabama families and ratepayers.”

During the meeting Tuesday, PSC members expressed gratitude to the Commission’s staff, the company, as well as the Alabama Attorney General’s office, for their work, even through the Thanksgiving holiday, to achieve a resolution.

“I’m proud of the work my fellow commissioners and I put into bringing everyone to the table and pushing for real, practical solutions that make energy more affordable,” Oden said.

Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.