Steam rises from the Miller coal Power Plant in Adamsville, Alabama on April 11, 2021. - The James H. Miller Jr. site faces no immediate shutdown threat and has the backing of many locals because of the jobs it offers -- despite sending about as much planet warming carbon dioxide into the sky last year as 3.7 million cars. The plant highlights a key problem in counteracting climate change -- even for people who have accepted it is happening, the threat can be overshadowed by pressing daily needs like paying bills. That ongoing battle will bring together world leaders this week in Washington as President Joe Biden works to revitalize a global effort left in chaos by his predecessor Donald Trump. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
MONTGOMERY, Ala.—Alabama’s utility regulators can continue to hold closed-door meetings to determine price hikes, in an apparent departure from common practices in neighboring states, a circuit court judge ruled.
The decision on Monday rejected a lawsuit filed by Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of Energy Alabama, a nonprofit that advocates for renewable energy sources. The watchdog group was denied access to two meetings in 2024 where the public service commission decided how Alabama Power — the state’s largest electricity provider — should adjust prices based on volatility in global fuel costs.
