In short: Almost all of Birmingham, Hoover and Vestavia Hills buys power from Alabama Power, at about 16.8¢ per kWh for homes in 2024. Its customers lost about 5.6 hours of power that year counting major storms, under 2 hours without them. Jefferson County’s top hazard is tornadoes, and Alabama Power adds a monthly charge for home solar.
This page covers the Birmingham area: Birmingham, Hoover and Vestavia Hills in Jefferson and Shelby counties. Statewide rules, licensing and averages are in our Alabama energy guide. Here we look at what Alabama Power’s own rules, the county’s weather risks and the local permit offices mean for backup power, solar, batteries and EV charging.
Birmingham at a glance
- Alabama Power: serves Birmingham, Hoover and Vestavia Hills. About 16.8¢ per kWh for homes (2024 average). Company-wide outages in 2024: 334 minutes per customer with major events, 117 minutes without them (EIA-861).
- Other utilities nearby: Bessemer Utilities (TVA power, about 12.3¢) and Coosa Valley Electric Cooperative in parts of Shelby County (about 15.7¢; 154 outage minutes on normal days in 2024).
- Sun: 4.48 kWh per square meter per day (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020), about 1,310 kWh a year per kW of panels by our rough estimate.
- Top hazards: tornado and lightning rated “very high” in Jefferson County; cold wave, heat wave, ice storm, inland flooding and strong wind “relatively high”; overall risk “relatively high” (FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025).
- Public charging: 209 public ports at 52 locations in Birmingham, plus 12 in Hoover and 12 in Vestavia Hills (AFDC, October 3, 2026).
Your utility and what it means
Alabama Power. Three of its own rules matter most here. First, rates: in December 2025 the company said none of its regulated retail rate components is scheduled to rise through 2027, though your bill still moves with how much you use. Second, solar: under Rate Rider RGB, approved by the Alabama Public Service Commission, a home that runs its own generation in parallel with the grid pays a capacity reservation charge of $5.41 per kW of nameplate capacity each month. As we read the rider, a 6 kW solar system would add about $32 a month, roughly $390 a year. The alternative it offers is the Time Advantage rate with a 71¢ per kWh price on summer weekday afternoons from 3 to 5 p.m. Ask Alabama Power to confirm how the rider applies to your system before you sign. Third, EVs: a $500 rebate for a new Level 2 home charger, a discount of about 1.7¢ per kWh for charging between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., and the GridWise+ smart-charging program, which pays up to $100.
Bessemer Utilities and Coosa Valley Electric Cooperative. If your bill comes from one of these, the Alabama Power rules above do not apply. Bessemer buys TVA power and set the lowest price in the area in 2024. Ask either utility for its solar, battery and EV terms in writing.
Backup power in Birmingham
Most of Alabama Power’s lost minutes come on a few storm days, and FEMA rates both tornadoes and lightning “very high” for Jefferson County. Alabama Power’s own news reports show how wide those storms reach: about 123,000 customers affected in February 2025, more than 107,000 in the March 2025 tornadoes, and outages across about 93% of its service area in the storms of June 1, 2026. Those figures are company-wide, not Birmingham alone. Cold waves and ice storms are also rated “relatively high” here, so plan for a winter outage as well as a summer one.
- A few hours: a portable power station covers phones, Wi-Fi, lights and a CPAP.
- A day or more after a storm: a portable or standby generator, connected through a transfer switch or interlock installed by a licensed electrician. A gas furnace still needs power for its blower in an ice storm.
- Automatic and quiet: a home battery, on its own or with solar.
The CPSC says to run a portable generator outdoors only, at least 20 feet from the house with the exhaust pointed away, never in a garage, and to keep battery-backed CO alarms on every level. Rider RGB applies to “non-emergency” generation that runs in parallel with the grid, so a standby generator that only runs when the grid is down is a different case; confirm with Alabama Power. See our backup power guide, generator installation and the generator sizing calculator.
Solar in Birmingham
Each kW of panels in Birmingham makes about 1,310 kWh a year by our estimate. Used in your own home as it is produced, that is worth about $220 a year at Alabama Power’s 2024 average price. Subtract the capacity reservation charge of about $65 per kW a year and the value of self-used solar falls to roughly $155 per kW. Power you send back is bought at a much lower rate (reported as Alabama Power’s avoided cost; we could not open the current purchase rate schedule). The practical result: size a system to your daytime use, think about a battery, and get the full monthly charge in writing in any quote.
Alabama Power must authorize any system in writing before it runs in parallel with the grid, usually through an interconnection agreement. The federal 25D credit ended for systems completed after 2025. Try the solar potential calculator, compare solar costs, read how net metering and net billing work and solar installation.
Home batteries in Birmingham
A battery has two jobs in Birmingham. It keeps the fridge, lights and medical devices running through tornado-season and ice-storm outages without fuel, and it stores midday solar for the evening so less goes back to the grid at the low buyback rate. We found no Alabama Power battery program for homes. The RGB rider does not say how it treats a battery on its own, so ask before you buy. See battery installation, home battery cost and the battery backup calculator.
EV charging in Birmingham
Birmingham has 209 public charging ports, Hoover and Vestavia Hills 12 each. At home, at about 30 kWh per 100 miles, charging costs about $5 per 100 miles at Alabama Power’s average price, or about $600 for 12,000 miles a year (estimates); the night discount lowers that if you charge after 9 p.m. Alabama Power’s $500 rebate covers a new Level 2 charger on a dedicated circuit at a single-family home, with proof of vehicle, a photo, the serial number and proof of purchase, applied for within 90 days. Check the program page, since terms change. See EV charger installation and the EV charging cost calculator.
Drive on another fuel? See every alternative fuel station in Birmingham: hydrogen, propane, natural gas, E85 ethanol, biodiesel and renewable diesel.
Permits and inspections
In Birmingham, the Department of Planning, Engineering and Permits (City Hall, Room 207) issues most permits; its Online Permit Center lets you apply, pay and track inspections. Vestavia Hills Building Safety requires the contractor to pull the permit, and every electrician needs a city business license and a current Alabama master electrician card. In Hoover, the city’s Building Inspections department issues building and electrical permits. None of the three publishes a solar, generator or EV charger guide that we found, so the installer should confirm requirements.
Use a contractor licensed by the Alabama Electrical Contractors Board (see the state page). Many neighborhoods in Hoover and Vestavia Hills have HOAs, so check covenants for panels and generator placement first.
Cities we cover
- Birmingham
- Hoover
- Vestavia Hills
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Birmingham energy FAQ
Who provides electricity in Birmingham, Alabama?
Alabama Power serves Birmingham, Hoover and Vestavia Hills. Bessemer Utilities, the City of Tarrant and Coosa Valley Electric Cooperative serve smaller areas of Jefferson and Shelby counties (EIA-861, 2024). Your bill names your utility, and that sets your solar and EV terms.
Does Alabama Power charge extra for home solar?
Yes. Rate Rider RGB adds a capacity reservation charge of $5.41 per kW of nameplate capacity each month for homes running their own generation in parallel with the grid, about $32 a month for a 6 kW system by our reading. A Time Advantage rate option is offered instead. Confirm the amount with Alabama Power.
How long are power outages in Birmingham?
Alabama Power customers averaged about 117 minutes without power on normal days in 2024 and 334 minutes counting major storms (company-wide, EIA-861). Tornadoes and lightning are Jefferson County’s top hazards, and a big storm can leave some homes out for a day or more.
Is there an EV charger rebate in Birmingham?
Alabama Power offers a one-time $500 rebate for a new Level 2 charger installed at a single-family home, for customers who own or lease an EV or plug-in hybrid. It also takes about 1.7¢ off each kWh used for charging between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. Check the program page for current terms.
Sources
U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 for 2024 (sales, reliability, service territories, net metering), read October 3, 2026. Alabama Power: Rate Rider RGB and its special rules, EV home charger rebate, EV night charging discount and GridWise+ pages, December 2, 2025 rate announcement, and Alabama News Center storm reports (2025 and June 2026), read October 3, 2026. City of Birmingham, Vestavia Hills and Hoover permit pages. FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025). NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020. AFDC Station Locator, October 3, 2026. CPSC generator safety guidance.