After a long hot summer, the thought of August’s electric bill might scare you! But not some customers north of us who pay a fraction of what we do.
For Stephen McLamb, opening his electric bills is no shock. His bill for August: $43.94. McLamb manages these low bills with his solar panels on his property outside Guntersville in Marshall County, about 75 miles from Birmingham.
“It helped me when I was having problems,” McLamb explained.
The former Huntsville broadcaster, now a county clerk, needed to cut expenses. After lots of research and YouTube videos, he found a solution.
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“I started operating the Redneck Power Plant in 2020. I live in the country and it’s no big deal; it gives people something to talk about,” McLamb said of his mini solar farm.
Construction costs were less than $10,000. He estimates the project will pay for itself in seven to eight years.
His monthly bills now range from $26 to $60. He tracks his electricity usage minute by minute online. McLamb says he celebrates his savings every month with posts on hisFacebook page.
The backup batteries are charged in his house with the additional solar energy. He is only on the grid for about an hour a day. His air conditioning is set to a cool 21 degrees.
So why aren’t more people going solar? McLamb explains that he works with the Arab Coop at TVA Power, so he doesn’t pay additional fees like customers who live just 30 miles from him in Blount County and those of us who live further south. In other parts of the state, Alabama Power charges fees, making going solar a less attractive investment.
McLamb says customers in other southern states, such as Florida and Georgia, are not greatly affected by surcharges. He says until the public has a say in the Public Service Commission, which regulates the charges, only parts of Alabama have the opportunity to use solar energy.
“Everyone should have the right to use solar energy if they want to,” said McLamb, who ran unsuccessfully for the PSC in 2022.
A legal battle over these solar fees has been stalled in federal court for years. Alabama Power has said it needs to collect the fees to maintain the infrastructure needed to provide backup power to customers.
