Liberal environmentalists' favorite Alabama Republican is back

Former public service commissioner Terry Dunn (Photo: YouTube screenshot)

While college football games and presidential debates held our attention, Alabamians may have allowed a forgotten nemesis to slip back into our lives under the radar.

Just last year, Alabama voters threw Terry Dunn off of the Public Service Commission, the panel tasked with regulating the state’s public utilities and the front lines of the radical environmental movement’s assault on coal, farmers, economic growth and our general way of life.

The “firing offense” in voters’ eyes was, in short, Dunn’s cozy alliance with those environmental groups.

But even after conservative Republican Chip Beeker slaughtered Dunn at the ballot box 59 percent to 41 percent just last year, Dunn now claims he has received “an overwhelming response from the public to enter the race” for Public Service Commission President.

This race will undoubtedly be overshadowed by the presidential election, but it is important for Alabamians to understand that allowing the environmental movement to regain a toe-hold at the PSC could be every bit as damaging as allowing Hillary Clinton in the White House.

If you think that is hyperbolic, just look at what happened to our neighbors to the east when environmental groups seized an opportunity to take down the state’s coal industry.

Cameron Smith, who at the time was Policy Director for the conservative Alabama Policy Institute, explains:

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, funded by the liberal San Francisco-based Energy Foundation, stated that the [Georgia PSC] rate case was the correct forum to consider “coal unit retirements,” legalese for shutting down coal-powered energy production. Georgia Power ultimately had to close 15 coal- and oil-fired units, accounting for about 20% of the electrical capacity of its power grid.

Terry Dunn and a coalition of environmental groups advocated for the exact same formal legal proceedings in Alabama, but they were denied by the other two members of the PSC — including PSC President Twinkle Cavanaugh, whom Dunn is now challenging. Conservative members of the PSC opted instead for a series of open public forums, during which all sides got to share their views, but no one could hijack the process to advance a nefarious agenda.

That has not stopped the environmentalists from trying, though.

Using data made publicly available by the far-left Energy Foundation, here’s a quick snapshot of how much money environmental groups participating in the Alabama PSC hearings received, and what the funds were earmarked for:

— Alabama Arise: $50,000 during the Alabama PSC hearings “to advance clean energy policies in Alabama.”
— Alabama Environmental Council (AEC): $107,000 “to increase capacity and stakeholder engagement on clean energy issues in Alabama,” including $62,000 during the Alabama PSC hearings.
— Alabama Rivers Alliance: $40,000 matching grant during the Alabama PSC hearings “to accelerate the retirement of coal-fired power plants in Alabama.”
— Greater Birmingham Alliance to Stop Air Pollution (GASP): $70,000, including a $20,000 matching grant “to accelerate the retirement of coal-fired power plants in Alabama” and $50,000 “to increase capacity and support for clean air policies in Alabama.”
— Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE): $810,000 for a wide variety of climate-related issues in the southeast, including $60,000 during the Alabama PSC hearings “to accelerate retirement of coal-fired power plants.”
— Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC): $1.8 Million, including $60,000 during the PSC hearings “to accelerate retirement of coal-fired power plants in the Southeast.”

Unfortunately, they have had some success outside of the PSC.

In spite of spending roughly $3 billion to comply with federal environmental mandates, Alabama Power still had to close two of the state’s coal-fired units and transition two others from coal to natural gas. Several rounds of layoffs have also occurred at Walter Energy’s Alabama mines. And even if you don’t work in the energy industry, your power bill increased for the first time in years as a direct result of increased costs brought on by environmental regulations levied under the Obama Administration.

Every single Alabamian is impacted by what takes place at the Public Service Commission. Allowing Terry Dunn to once again be the environmentalists’ fox in the taxpayers’ hen house would be a disaster.

In his absence, the PSC has operated as a model of conservative governance.

While most agencies pleaded for “level funding” and legislators rung their hands over actually having to make cuts, the PSC voluntarily slashed its own budget by one-third, serving as a picture of fiscal responsibility at a time when Alabama’s electorate is searching for leaders who practice what they preach.

That’s why conservatives all over the state, including Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), lined up against Dunn in 2014. It’s time to take up the fight again.

RELATED:

For a quick primer on the recent history of the environmentalist movement, including their alliance with Terry Dunn, check out Yellowhammer TV’s News in 90 Seconds feature on “Alabama’s Enviro Invasion.”

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