ATLANTA, Nov. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- On Thursday, November 21, 2019, regulators at the Alabama Public Service Commission held a hearing to evaluate complaints about a standby charge for customers who have installed solar power at their homes. The following is a statement from American Senior Alliance.

"Keeping electricity rates affordable is crucially important for seniors in Alabama and across our country. That's why American Senior Alliance has taken a strong interest in matters before public utility regulators in a number of states, including Alabama.

We wholeheartedly support the December 2012 standby charge implemented by the Alabama Public Service Commission, which helps ensure that all customers who remain connected to the electric grid pay for its use. The $5 per kilowatt charge for users of residential solar power is a common sense way to ensure that customers without solar - including vulnerable seniors - don't end up paying more on their power bills.

In California, for example, non-solar customers have been forced to pay $2 billion more for power because of policies that favor solar customers. This must not be allowed to happen in Alabama, which is why the implementation of a standby charge for solar customers is sensible and prudent.

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