Big Mules Ain't All Bad

Our legendary governor of the 1940’s and 1950’s was the giant, cartoonish, character James E. “Big Jim” Folsom. Ole Big Jim ran against the big businesses of Birmingham – big banks, utilities, and U.S. Steel – and labeled them the “Big Mules.” He campaigned on the back of a flatbed truck in every hamlet in the state. He would dance and sing with his band, the Strawberry Pickers, and rail against the Big Mules of Birmingham and the Big Planters of the Black Belt.

George Wallace came onto the scene in the 1960’s. Wallace was a protégé of Big Jim Folsom. Wallace, like Big Jim, Huey Long of Louisiana, and other southern political demagogues, knew you had to find a boogeyman to run against. Wallace had an easy target. His boogeyman was the race issue. He became the most ardent racist segregationist in the south. However, that issue played out when Blacks were given the right to vote in 1965, and quickly constituted 25% of the electorate. Wallace had to find a new boogeyman to run against, so like his mentor, Big Jim, Wallace went after the last Big Mule standing – Alabama Power Company. Wallace was the ultimate demagogue, but history reveals that what is good for Alabama Power is good for Alabama.

While nobody likes paying power bills, most of us fail to consider what we get for our money. We want to see the lights come on when we flip the switch and Alabama Power does a better job at making that happen than just about anybody.

Three years ago, a historic winter blast of cold air on Christmas Eve made the lights go out in Georgia. They also went out in Mississippi, Tennessee, and the Tennessee Valley of Alabama, as rolling blackouts spread across the South. However, the lights stayed on in Alabama Power territory. Yet, when the lights do go out in the middle of the storm, you can rest assured a lineman from Alabama Power will weather the storm, leaving his home and family to get the power back on for your home and family.

Alabama Power does more than just keep the lights on. It has been the driving force behind economic development in Alabama for an entire century. Today, while industries are abandoning plans for investments in other southern states because they cannot get a reliable supply of electricity, business is booming in Alabama Power territory. This is because the leadership of Alabama Power has refused to buckle to left-wing advocates that suggest we run steel mills and factories off solar panels and windmills.

A group calling itself Conservatives for Clean Energy has hired shady political operatives to attack Alabama Power and promote so-called “clean energy.” Anytime a pro-solar and pro-windmill group puts the word “conservative” in their name, you can bet there is nothing conservative about them.

Fortunately, for the past decade, our Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities, has had strong leadership and the backbone to stand up to the left-wing forces that would have us sitting in the dark, freezing, and paying higher bills. The President of the PSC, Twinkle Cavanaugh, is as smart and tough as they come. Along with her fellow commissioners, she has held the line on regulations that keep the lights on, the jobs coming, and the cost of electricity around the national average.

To the contrary, Texas deregulated utilities a few years ago and left power suppliers on their own to meet the demands of America’s second-biggest state. Windmills and solar panels went up everywhere and utilities cut their maintenance budgets to the bone. Then, in the winter of 2021, the sun went down, the windmills literally froze up, and people started dying. Even as late as this past August, Texas faced rolling blackouts because the utilities could not meet demand.

One reason Alabama is not Texas is because our Public Service Commission demanded that Alabama Power put Alabama families, businesses, and industries ahead of the left-wing environmentalist agenda. It is the PSC’s job to hold the power company and all the businesses they regulate accountable, and they do. The Commission has proven it will hold the power company’s feet to the fire. For example, the PSC has not granted a rate increase since 2021, and the commission monitors the cost of fuel and other expenses on a monthly basis. The PSC has done an excellent job requiring the power company to cut the fat without sacrificing the muscle needed to care for Alabama families and create more jobs.

Some people will keep taking shots at Alabama Power because they are an obvious Big Mule boogeyman – but it has always been true, if you’ve got a heavy load to pull you need a big mule.

See you next week.

Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at steve@steveflowers.us.