Energy & Policy Institute

02/15/2024

Today, CUB, AARP Illinois and the Energy & Policy Institute call for Illinois to pass legislation to prohibit electric, gas and water utilities from charging customers millions for self-serving PR campaigns and rate-hike legal fees. Big thanks to Senator Suzy Glowiak Hilton and State Rep Theresa Mah for sponsoring this important legislation. Please urge the General Assembly to pass the Utility Affordability Act (SB 2885/HB 5061). Read our release: https://bit.ly/3wmKDuA Take action here: https://bit.ly/42ERyv8

02/07/2024

Decarbonizing the economy will require a significant expansion of interstate and interregional transmission, but Southern Company and Entergy are undermining efforts to expand high-voltage transmission in an effort to entrench their monopolies.

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Investor-owned utilities in the South have spent years undermining efforts to expand high-voltage transmission in an effort to entrench their monopolies.

12/22/2023

Governor Joe Lombardo has eroded Nevada’s robust climate plan, one year into his first term.

Governor Joe Lombardo prioritized gas and eroded Nevada's climate plan, from appointing a fossil fuel executive to the Office of Energy to exiting the U.S. Climate Alliance.

12/21/2023

As federal and local governments work to speed the transition away from gas appliances, there is some evidence that gas interests are redoubling efforts to keep gas in US homes.

Utilities give rewards to house builders to install and promote gas appliances in homes – and enlist celebrity chefs to extoll the fossil fuel

10/11/2023

Utility companies are overwhelmingly failing to act on and transition to clean energy, despite their climate pledges.

Is your utility taking climate change seriously? Find out at the link in bio.

The Dirty Truth About Utility Climate Pledges Utilities are trying to greenwash their dirty plans. It’s time to hold them accountable. The next decade is critical to averting the worst impacts of the climate crisis and transforming our economy to run entirely on clean energy. Studies show that unl...

07/12/2023

A law firm that conducted Southern Company’s internal investigation into reports that a political consulting firm used by a Southern subsidiary directed private surveillance of Southern’s CEO – possibly with the approval of the subsidiary’s CEO – has its own ties to both the consultant and the subsidiary.

A law firm that conducted Southern Company’s internal investigation into reports that a political consulting firm used by a Southern subsidiary directed private surveillance of Southern’s CEO - possibly with the approval of the subsidiary’s CEO - has its own ties to both the consultant and the...

05/31/2023

Testing New York Apartments: How Dirty Is That Gas Stove, Really?

The answer: Nitrogen dioxide levels five times the safety benchmark set by the EPA.

Scientists are lugging sophisticated sensors into homes in 10 cities to measure and track the pollution from gas stoves as it drifts from room to room.

05/23/2023

People in the South and Midwest who face the prospect of new CO2 pipelines in their communities see what happened in Satartia as a potential warning.

Companies are building carbon dioxide pipelines as a possible climate solution. But after a pipeline rupture sent dozens to the hospital in a Mississippi town, there are questions about their safety.

04/20/2023

Petersburg and Prince George could see more pollutants coming from the methane gas compressor station

TC Energy plans to up the horsepower of its compressor station in a city with great health disparities. How will it affect the area?

04/18/2023

Xcel Energy is fighting the scheduled sunset of a Minnesota law that enables utilities to charge customers hundreds of millions of dollars for fossil gas infrastructure upgrades without standard regulatory review.

Xcel Energy is lobbying for an extension of the Minnesota pipeline rider, also known as the Gas Utility Infrastructure Cost.

04/18/2023

Ameren Missouri customers paid $1.8M for St. Louis Blues promotion. Only a fraction went to charity.

“The entire setup is ethically questionable and it is frankly shocking to me that this program is included in rates"

Ameren gives money to kids charities for power play goals scored by the St. Louis Blues. But it has donated less than $1 for every $11 it spends.

04/10/2023

An environmental regulator in Virginia who quietly promoted a proposed gas pipeline project may soon rule on one of its permits.

An environmental regulator in Virginia who quietly promoted a proposed gas pipeline project may soon rule on one of its permits.

03/31/2023

DTE Energy and Consumers Energy want to spend taxpayer money set aside for a "low-carbon" program on more fossil gas.

Utilities hope to expand Michigan’s markets for fossil and ‘renewable’ gas as state and advocates call for decarbonization to fight climate change.

03/30/2023

Bank records reveal secret payments to convicted former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder's dark money group Generation Now from the fossil fuel, payday loan, sports betting, telecommunications, and nursing home industries...

Bank records reveal more secret payments to Larry Householder’s dark money group from the fossil fuel industry and other sectors.

03/22/2023

Gas utilities have opened a new front in the decarbonization struggle: building codes.

“The more utilities delay and keep the status quo .. the better off they are financially in the short term.”

Local communities want to electrify, but gas interests have other ideas.

02/21/2023

02/08/2023

Gas companies have enlisted prominent Democrats to convince liberal voters that the fuel is climate-friendly, documents show

The group funded by gas-fired utilities, dubbed Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future, has been hiring Democratic politicians to convince liberal voters that they should not embrace gas bans as a way to fight climate change.

02/07/2023

"Four decades ago, the gas industry and appliance manufacturers developed a partial solution for this problem. They created a cleaner and more efficient burner. But you can't buy ranges with those burners because the industry never manufactured those appliances for sale."

Gas utilities and cooking stove manufacturers knew for decades that burners could be made that emit less pollution in homes, but they chose not to. That may may be about to change.

01/31/2023

Southwest Gas Corporation recruited elected officials to back its rate increase in front of the Arizona Corporation Commission records show.

Championing Southwest Gas' second rate increase in as many years, mayors in some of Arizona's fastest-growing communities sent a letter of support to the Arizona Corporation Commission claiming proposals from a consumer interest group “would impose unnecessary and costly barriers for consumers” ...

01/31/2023

01/30/2023

US utilities shut off power to millions amid record corporate profits

Largest utilities spent billions on stock buybacks, dividend payments to shareholders and executive salaries, analysis finds

01/30/2023

Utility shutoffs for nonpayment soar across Illinois and the Chicago area

Three organizations issue findings that say Illinois has the most disconnections among states that disclose that information. ComEd is part of the report’s ‘Hall of Shame.’

12/22/2022

A freelance journalist was paid by the political firm Matrix to attack politicians that challenged utilities who had hired Matrix. New reporting shows MORE Matrix dirty tactics used by multiple power companies, including NextEra and Southern Company.

An ABC News freelance producer confronted critics of a consulting firm's powerful clients. Her actions confirm people's worst suspicions about the news media, says a former network news president.

12/19/2022

Matrix LLC, a consulting firm paid by Alabama Power and Florida Power & Light, funded a network of "media" outlets that attacked critics, including EPI. Their coverage influenced local news and impacted elections on the utilities' behalf.

Alabama Power and Florida Power & Light hired the consulting firm Matrix to help shape their fortunes. Matrix funded six sites that covered politics, filling a void left by the decline of local news.

12/15/2022

A Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission audit found FirstEnergy charged Pennsylvania customers $2.4 million for 'inappropriate costs' related to a federal investigation in Ohio, but did not explain how FirstEnergy spent the money. The Energy and Policy Institute filed a Right-to-Know law request with the commission and got the answers that Pennsylvania ratepayers need to know https://www.energyandpolicy.org/firstenergy-pennsylvania-inappropriate-costs/

12/08/2022

Georgia Power advertised a rate structure, called “Smart Usage,” as a way for customers to “take control” and “reduce your monthly energy bill,” but real-world data shows that the rate is creating higher bills to customers, not savings.

61% of all customers on the new rate are paying more for the same service than they would have under the traditional residential rate for electricity.

Georgia Power advertised “Smart Usage,” as a way for customers to “reduce your monthly energy bill,” but most customers are getting higher bills, not savings.

11/02/2022

Documents reveal The Empowerment Alliance, a group aligned with the gas industry, is behind the mysterious Affordable Energy Fund PAC that's spent $1+ million on election mailers and digital ads supporting J.D. Vance and other Republican candidates in Ohio https://www.energyandpolicy.org/affordable-energy-fund-pac-mailers-ads/

10/11/2022

TC Energy (formerly TransCanada) created a secretive 'community advisory committee' in Virginia to show "stakeholder outreach" for its project. Black pastors recruited to the committee are now strongly opposing the pipeline.

Black community members have been asked to rubber-stamp harmful projects for decades, activists say

10/11/2022

DTE Energy donates to nearly every Michigan lawmaker as it seeks rate hike

Of the state’s 148 senators and representatives, 138 have received campaign contributions tied to DTE Energy, totaling more than $1 million.

Of the state’s 148 senators and representatives, 138 have received campaign contributions tied to DTE Energy, totaling more than $1 million

10/03/2022

The 50 dirtiest electric utilities are failing to retire coal, stop building new gas, and move rapidly to clean energy, despite their (empty) climate pledges.

The Dirty Truth About Utility Climate Pledges Utilities are trying to greenwash their dirty plans. It’s time to hold them accountable. The next decade is critical to averting the worst impacts of the climate crisis and transforming our economy to run entirely on clean energy. Studies show that unl...