Utility Elections Intensify in Arizona and Alabama

Rising electricity prices and debates over powering data centers are transforming once-obscure elections for utility boards and regulators into high-stakes political contests across several states, with Arizona and Alabama emerging as key battlegrounds this week.

In Arizona, voters are deciding the future of the Salt River Project, the nation's largest public utility serving more than 2 million power and water customers in the Phoenix area, through an election on Tuesday. The utility faces pressure to expand capacity twofold within a decade to support booming data centers and semiconductor factories amid growing demand from artificial intelligence applications. Early ballot requests have surged more than threefold compared to two years ago, with turnout already exceeding 22,000 as of Thursday, far above the average of 7,500 in recent elections. Campaigning involves yard signs, text messages, fliers and door-to-door efforts, complicated by rules that weight votes by land acreage, giving large landowners significant influence.

Two competing slates seek a board majority. One, supported by Turning Point Action and the business-backed group Arizonans for Responsible Growth,...