History
In the late 1970s, the cities of Alexander City, Dothan, Fairhope, Foley, LaFayette, Lanett, Luverne, Opelika, Piedmont, Sylacauga, Troy, and Tuskegee explored joining together to stabilize wholesale power supply costs and meet other mutual needs.
In 1981, their efforts resulted in passage of the legislation that enabled the cities to jointly create the Alabama Municipal Electric Authority (AMEA) as a public corporation to provide dependable, economical electric power and other services for the Member cities.
On Sept. 1, 1986, AMEA began providing affordable, reliable power to its Members for power requirements exceeding their Southeastern Power Administration (SEPA) allotments and was, on that date, designated as the Members’ agent with SEPA.
Sylacauga Plant
With the opening of our Sylacauga plant in 2004, AMEA became the first organization in Alabama in over 80 years to build a municipally-owned power generation facility. Its two combustion turbines are fueled by natural gas and can generate a 95 thousand-kilowatt capacity.
Power in Numbers
customers served
Providing affordable power
capacity of AMEA’s Power Plant in Sylacauga
In 2006, AMEA signed a power supply agreement with Alabama Power, allowing our utility Members to develop competitive rate structures for their customers.
By the early 2020s, with the success of energy initiatives and partnerships that went far beyond Alabama, the organization was expanding its services to our Member communities and locales across the region. AMEA was evolving to offer new power initiatives—including natural gas turbines and solar farms—throughout the country.
AMEA Becomes Energy Southeast
To better reflect this progress, a new name was needed. AMEA is now Energy Southeast. We’re broadening our services, both functionally and geographically. And now we’re better equipped to help our Members achieve the quality of place that builds community. In the 21st century, the place to look for energy leadership is Energy Southeast.
Today, Energy Southeast continues to provide reliable and economical locally-owned power for public utilities in Alexander City, Dothan, Fairhope, Foley, LaFayette, Lanett, Luverne, Opelika, Piedmont, Sylacauga and Tuskegee – as well as these communities’ nearly 350,000 customers.