Alabama Public Service Commissioners Chris "Chip" Beeker Jr. and Jeremy Oden were reelected to their seats on Nov. 6, 2018. They are both seeking re-election to their seats in 2022.

The Alabama Senate and governor’s races are generating the headlines, and the attack ads are coming in fast and fierce.

But among the down ballot races, the contest for the Public Service Commission, for months, has been a brutal assessment of a government agency that is supposed to serve as an independent regulator of utilities, charged with establishing rates to consumers.

At candidate forums and through press releases, the challengers to two incumbent commissioners – Chris “Chip” Beeker and Jeremy Oden – are blasting the group for being beholden to special interests instead of the ratepaying consumers.

Specifically, the challengers allege the PSC has supported a so-called “hidden tax,” are overpaid, and are unfairly opposed to providing consumers more energy choices – namely, solar – as other states are moving forward with investments in the alternative energy.

Beeker and Oden, for their part, are focused on a more nationalized approach that mirrors Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, in that they are fighting President Joe Biden’s energy policies.

Oden, during an appearance at Mobile County GOP forum in April, said that Alabama has “the most conservative public commission” in the United States, and that he has helped keep it that way.

Oden, who has been on the PSC since 2012, could not be reached for comment.

Beeker, who operates Beeker Timber Co. and Beeker Catfish and Cattle Co., said if re-elected, he wants to find “new ways to combat the radical left agenda” by combating against efforts to “drift into a completely renewable energy process and leave us with unreliable power and rolling blackouts.”

Beeker and Oden have campaigns largely funded by political action committees, fueling the long-held perception that the Alabama PSC is more beholden to special interests than consumers. Since September 2021, Oden’s campaign has raised $205,000 from PACs, according to records within the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office. He’s received a total of $259,000 in contributions. Beeker has benefited from $105,500 in PAC money this year, which is almost all the $123,000 he’s raised from contributions.

Robin Litaker, a retired teacher from Homewood, is seeking election to the Alabama Public Service Commission. (supplied photo by the Litaker campaign).

The closest challenger in terms of fundraising is Robin Litaker, who is one of three challengers for the Place 2 post held by Beeker. She has raised over $85,000 during the race, mostly coming from individual contributions.

Litaker is a retired teacher who lives in Homewood and has been firing out press releases accusing Beeker of being backed by dark money PACs.

During a forum in Mobile, Litaker accused commissioners of spending too much money on travel expenses, and for having high salaries.

According to state records, during fiscal year 2021, Beeker and Oden both earned a gross pay of $99,488. The commission’s third member, PSC president Twinkle Cavanaugh, earned $106,594 last year.

“This is not what conservatives do,” Litaker said, accusing the PSC of being a bloated agency.

Beeker said did not run for PSC “for money,” but that he took on the role “because I understand what it takes to run a small business and a successful farming operation” and that he wanted to make sure the state has “low rates and reliable energy.”

Beeker said he’s only taken seven out-of-state trips since he was first elected to the PSC in 2014. He said he will not apologize “for my work in the state of Alabama where I meet with Alabamians and the issues they face.”

Beeker, meanwhile, is accusing Litaker of accepting money from left-leaning sources, which Litaker denies.

Robert McCollum, a Republican candidate for the Alabama Public Service Commission in 2022. (campaign photo)

Also in the Place 2 race is Robert McCollum of Dadeville, who also accuses the PSC of being tied too closely to special interest groups.

“I want to make sure that our rates are fair, and we are treated fairly,” said McCollum, who is 23 and running for elected office for the first time. He said he’s spent the past three years operating his own construction, truck rental and vending machine business.

“I want to get back to looking after the people of Alabama and not the interest of just the utility companies,” he said.

If elected, McCollum said he would like to work with utility companies to see what kind of programs they have in place to protect from cyber attacks.

Brent Woodall, a Republican candidate for Alabama Public Service Commission in 2022. (John Sharp/jsharp@al.com).

In Place 1, Oden is being challenged by Brent Woodall of Tuscumbia, Stephen McLamb of Guntersville and Tallassee Mayor Johnny Hammock.

Woodall, in recent weeks, is alleging that the PSC is diverting surplus state utility tax money to the General Fund instead of rebating it back to utility customers. He calls it a “hidden tax” sent to the General Fund where it will get “mixed up and mangled with all the legitimately collected tax money and spent on tax projects people won’t ever enjoy.”

Woodall is an attorney who is also a former prosecutor with both the Alabama Attorney General’s office and the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama. He once served as the chief of staff with the PSC.

Litaker has also accused the PSC of shepherding a “hidden tax” from the utilities to the General Fund.

Beeker said there is no such thing.

“We have never voted to raise a tax at the PSC,” he said. “Our rates are set by the Legislature. Our goal is to be as frugal as possible with the money paid to the PSC.”

Beeker said the PSC’s savings do go to the Legislature, but he added, “I will never waste one dime of the hard-earned money of hardworking Alabamians.”

Stephen McLamb, a Republican who is running for the Alabama Public Service Commission in 2022. (campaign photo)

Stephen McLamb, a former longtime TV journalist, is accusing the incumbent PSC for not establishing a utility structure in Alabama that is welcoming to solar energy.

McLamb said his biggest concern is over the PSC’s handling of a solar fee in 2020, which allowed Alabama Power to keep a monthly fee for customers who have solar panels on their roofs.

The residential solar market in Alabama, according to a recent industry report, ranks No. 49.

McLamb blames the commissioners for the situation. A federal lawsuit was filed last year against the PSC over the fee. The typical rooftop installation of 4-6 kilowatts would add between $21 and $32 every month to a customer’s electric bill.

Alabama Power has defended the fees saying they are non-discriminatory way to recover the costs of having back-up power available for those customers when their solar panels are not producing.

“Why would a solar panel manufacturer come to a state whose Public Service Commission imposes financial penalties against people who use those products?” said McLamb, who last worked with WAFF in Huntsville.

He said he thought the PSC, in 2020, would oppose the fees saying that it would have been an appropriate approach for a commission that consists of all Republicans.

“Republicans don’t stand for taxes, and they don’t stand for fees,” he said. “They shocked me when not only did they maintain those fees, but they raised them. They were the highest in the nation, and that wasn’t good enough. I thought, ‘What’s the motivation going on here?’”

Beeker said for him, he’s made “every decision with the customer in mind” and that right now, Alabamians are hit with “skyrocketing” prices for gas and groceries.

He said, “The last thing I want to do is make a decision that would reflect in bills being higher. We have approved solar for military installations and big box chains willing to pay extra, but make no mistake, I will always vote in the best interest of the people in our state.”

Tallassee Mayor John Hammock, a Republican, is running for Alabama Public Service Commission in 2022. (photo courtesy of John Hammock).

Also running in the Place 1 is Hammock mayor of Tallahassee, who wants to see Alabama have a more diverse energy portfolio that includes natural gas, solar and wind.

Hammock also takes issue with how the incumbents have been campaigning by focusing on national energy policies.

“That’s off the rails and I don’t think this position has anything to do with Biden, AOC or Harris,” he said, referring Democratic New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vice-President Kamala Harris. “You should be in the office and know everything you can about energy and how it affects Alabama, and you need to be an umpire by calling balls and strikes. You don’t need to favor … the big utilities.”

Hammock also said he believes PSC members are paid too much. He said if elected, he would donate 10% of his salary to his church – Carville Baptist Church, and 10% to a charity.

Hammock was arrested in January in Orange Beach on a charge of domestic violence strangulation for an incident involving his wife. In court filings, he said he was acting in self-defense.

He declined comment about the incident.

Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 5/1/2021).

© 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.

Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.