Alabama data center law starts Oct. 1 amid bill questions

What changes Oct. 1

Alabama’s new data center law takes effect Oct. 1. That is the date the law begins operating, but it is not a stated date for a particular change to a household’s monthly power charge. No specific increase, decrease or dollar amount for residential customers has been identified.

Attention now turns to contracts filed since the commission began reworking its review process. WBRC 6 News examined the law, those contracts and how much of the process the public is allowed to see.

The effective date and the contract reviews are distinct steps. The law establishes the new legal framework beginning Oct. 1, while the filed contracts are handled through the commission’s review process. A contract’s filing alone does not state what any individual household will pay.

What customers should watch

For power customers, the key question is how the contracts reviewed under this process affect monthly charges. That cannot be expressed as a fixed amount from the law’s effective date alone.

The amount of public access also matters for customers trying to follow the process. The filings show that contracts have entered the review system, while the commission’s procedures determine how they are considered and what portions the public may see.

Three dates or actions should not be treated as interchangeable: the law taking effect, a contract being filed and the commission reviewing that contract. The Oct. 1 date applies to the law. Any specific effect on a customer’s bill would need to be identified through the contracts and their review rather than assumed from the effective date.