Fred Clark, president and CEO of Energy Southeast, told the Opelika City Council on Jan. 6 that cooperative contracts negotiated in 2010 helped stabilize local electric rates and that the citizens of Opelika did not experience a rate increase during a 13-year period covering 2012–2025.

Clark described the history of municipal power in Alabama, noting that the Alabama Municipal Electric Authority (now Energy Southeast) formed after repeated rate cases in the 1970s and enabling cities to collectively own generation. "The citizens of Opelika did not have a rate increase during that time," Clark said, adding that new contracts put in place will keep rates stable for the next 10 years.

Gary Fuller, identified in the meeting as a former mayor, introduced Clark and said Clark had done "an outstanding job of keeping our rates low," a benefit to residents and local businesses. Clark said Opelika Power Services is more than a century old and that municipal utilities in Alabama serve roughly 1.2 million people statewide. He argued that the city's low rates, combined with system reliability, make Opelika competitive for industrial customers.

Clark also warned that demand shifts — including data centers and other new loads — are creating pressures for new generation and operational adjustments, but he said Energy Southeast and member cities were positioned to manage those changes. He closed by offering to take questions and emphasizing his optimism about the region's prospects.

Next steps noted in the meeting: council members may raise operational questions with city staff; no formal action or vote was tied directly to this presentation.