PSC Commissioner Chris "Chip" Beeker III (left) will face former State Auditor Jim Zeigler (right) in the Republican primary runoff for Public Service Commission Place 2 on June 16, 2026. (Photos by Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector; Graphic by Andrea Tinker/Alabama Reflector)
Republican voters in Tuesday’s runoff will decide whether to renominate a current Public Service Commissioner or choose a former state auditor for the role.
The Public Service Commission, which regulates investor-owned utilities in the state, became the focal point of controveries over Alabama’s high electricity bills earlier this year. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Alabama residents paid 17.15 cents per kilowatt hour in March, among the highest in the South.
The Legislature altered the commission structure this spring, expanding the PSC from three members to seven — four of whom will be appointed by Gov. Kay Ivey before July 15 — and creating a new secretary of energy to be appointed by the next governor. The secretary will oversee operations for the commission.
GOP voters last month nominated Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry, rejecting incumbent commissioner Jeremy Oden in Place 1 on the commission. According to the Alabama Secretary of State’s office, Jim Zeigler, the former state auditor, received 189,724 (44.84%) votes for Place 2 and Chris Beeker, the incumbent received 103,835 (24.54%) votes in unofficial returns.
Zeigler, who served on the PSC in the 1970s, accused Beeker of going “along with Alabama Power Company.” “He voted to freeze the power rates at the highest level there’s ever been,” he said.
In December, the PSC elected to freeze electricity rates in Alabama. The Legislature this spring extended the freeze to 2029.
Messages seeking comment were left with Beeker Monday. Beeker’s campaign website says he has been “outspoken in opposing the radical climate agenda coming out of Washington and supports policies that lower energy costs while protecting Alabama families, farmers, and workers.”
One of Zeigler’s main priorities is to be “watchman over the invasion of data centers and solar farms into Alabama.”
“The data centers can use up valuable farmlands, they can ruin wetlands, they can use up the local water supply, they use massive amounts of power, which can cause the local power bills to go up. The local power bills to go up,” Zeigler said.
Beeker said during a public debate last month there have been “buzz words” used when discussing data centers and solar in the state.
“(When) data centers come in that is at a local level, that is not something the PSC votes on,” Beeker said during the debate. “I feel like we need the state Legislature to step in. We’re going to have to get some guidance from them. You get in solar farms, we’re now here talking about people’s personal property rights. The PSC is not a regulatory body to tell a person what they can or cannot do on their own land.”
The commissioner said in a press release announcing his candidacy last year that “we must implement policies that lower energy costs and put American workers first,” though he did not specify approaches in the statement.
Zeigler said Monday voters should choose him because there’s a clear difference between him and Beeker.
“If people like the electric bills being frozen at the highest level ever, they should vote for my opponent. If they like not having anyone overseeing the data centers and solar farms that should vote for my opponent,” he said.
Meet the Candidates
Chris Beeker
Age: Not Available Residence: Tuscaloosa Occupation: Not Available Education: Bachelor’s from University of Mississippi at Oxford Party: Republican Previous political experience: Alabama Public Service Commission Place 2 (2024-Present); Alabama USDA Rural Development Director (2017-2020) Campaign fundraising: Raised $521,500 and spent $433,000 as of Tuesday evening.
Jim Zeigler
Age: 78 Residence: Mobile Occupation: Freelance journalist Education: B.A. Public Administration, The University of Alabama (1972); J.D. Faulkner University Thomas Goode Jones School of Law (1978) Party: Republican Previous political experience: Alabama Public Service Commission (1974-1978); Alabama State Auditor (2014-2023) Campaign fundraising: Raised $149,200 and spent $139,200 as of Tuesday evening.
