As seniors across Alabama and the nation cope with Coronavirus, groups like GASP and Energy Alabama are politicizing the virus for their own gain.

On Tuesday, state regulators joined with Alabama Power to announce that no customer affected by the Coronavirus crisis would be disconnected from electrical service. The company has pledged to work with customers, including seniors, on a case-by-case basis to handle any hardships brought on by the virus. Yet, GASP and Energy Alabama have waged an all-out assault on the power company and its regulators.

It is important for Alabamians and their elected officials to understand that GASP and Energy Alabama advocate for their own agenda, not for power customers or seniors. Those groups have consistently argued against measures that would help seniors, including arguing just last week to state regulators that Alabama Power shouldn’t be allowed to add power generation that would keep seniors warm in the winter.

We should take the threat of Coronavirus very seriously, but the same can’t be said for GASP and Energy Alabama. They have proven time and time again that their goal is to raise money by targeting utilities, not to safeguard our vulnerable seniors.