By Lenore Vickrey
Rep. Randall Shedd, chairman of the House Utilities and Infrastructure Committee, has been a longstanding supporter of Alabama’s electric cooperatives. We talked to him recently to get his insights on the upcoming legislative session on possible legislation specific to energy needs, especially as cooperatives and their power suppliers are increasingly strapped to provide the energy needed to run energy-hungry data centers locating in the state, while coping with governmental restrictions on coal-fired and nuclear plants (see related story on Page 38).
“We would have to, as a committee, hear from the industry on what their needs are and try to respond if there’s something legislatively that we can do,” he says. “The electric grid is a tremendous asset to our state and the economy of our state.” Shedd regularly participates in meetings of the Energy Council, a national organization of 16 energy-producing states that looks at the broader landscape of energy issues nationally. Noting that the incoming presidential administration is sympathetic to the need for oil and gas drilling on federal land in Alaska, Shedd says he is “excited about the pipeline supply changing. And we’re looking forward to see what the supply opportunities are moving forward.”
Closer to home, Shedd chairs the Alabama Digital Expansion Authority, which oversees distribution of federal funds for the state’s broadband needs. Alabama has $1.4 billion to distribute through the federal BEAD program (Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment) and Shedd says his priority will be putting that money toward fiber build-out. “We had the most (funds) of any state in the southeast and really close to the numbers of the biggest states like California and Texas because of the early work that we did, the mapping and the plan and a practice run with our state funds,” Shedd says. “With a new administration there’s always a chance of policy changes but we’ll keep an eye on it.”
Shedd was the sponsor of HB 400 which allowed for expansion of rural broadband by allowing electric providers to use existing easements for broadband projects. Before the bill was enacted into law, Alabama ranked 47th in connectivity, but now is 24th or better. “One of the challenges we’ve got to address,” Shedd says, “is that we’re going to have pockets in this state that are not going to be served because of federal restrictions, in areas not eligible for federal funds. We really need to continue our state funding to serve those areas.”
Shedd knows firsthand the advantage of having internet connectivity, as he is a proud member of Sprout Fiber Internet powered by Cullman Electric Cooperative. “I did not have high-speed internet or any internet at the house before Sprout,” says Shedd, who lives in Baileyton in East Cullman County. “My neighbors and I are very grateful.”
He says he looks forward to working with his friend and colleague, Sen. Garlan Gudger, also of Cullman County, to address any needs of the electricity industry in the session. “It’s a little premature to know what the challenges are going to be going forward,” he acknowledged. “But most of us in public service understand very quickly that your utilities are crucial to the public, and when your lights don’t work, your water doesn’t come on, or your gas doesn’t work, we hear about it quickly. Nothing shakes folks up more than that. I’ll add broadband to that now. We’re a connected world and we need to make sure to keep that connection.”
