31 Oct 2017

Mergers and Monopoly: How Concentration Changes the Electricity Business

by | Date: 31 Oct 2017 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

A wave of consolidation has swept across the U.S. economy over the past decade, reshaping already-powerful corporations into financial and political powerhouses. The trend has taken particular hold among electric utilities, a sector where monopoly reigns virtually unchecked.

Consolidated, investor-owned utilities now have service territories that span several states and include millions of customers. They say gobbling competitors delivers operational efficiencies and cost savings. But who sees the benefits? And what are the unspoken costs?

This report explains how concentration of power in monopoly utilities delivers fewer customer benefits than alleged, and how the unmentioned costs of concentrating power in a few firms undermines protection of the public interest.… Read More
13 Oct 2017

In Small-Town Iowa, a Movement to Own the Future — Episode 50 of Local Energy Rules Podcast

by | Date: 13 Oct 2017 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

A citizen-led effort to establish in a city-run electric utility in the small northeast Iowa community of Decorah is picking up steam, with advocates — including some local officials — forecasting significant local economic growth powered by the transition. Decorah, with about 8,000 residents, is tucked in the northwest corner of Iowa just south of the … Read More
27 Sep 2017

PURPA: A Quiet Death or Longer Life After 40 Years of Wholesale Electricity Competition?

by | Date: 27 Sep 2017 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States, Media Coverage | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

ILSR’s John Farrell writes this commentary for Greentech Media on the current attacks that are coming in on all sides on the PURPA law that enables local energy production. Check it out:… Read More
21 Sep 2017

Electric Vehicles Use Local Power to Cut Pollution and Driving Costs (Episode 29)

by | Date: 21 Sep 2017 | posted in: Building Local Power, Energy, Energy Self Reliant States, Podcast | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Electric vehicles are enabling energy democracy.

That’s the takeaway from the latest Building Local Power podcast episode, a discussion between guest host and Communications Manager Nick Stumo-Langer, Energy Democracy initiative director John Farrell, and Energy Democracy initiative researcher Karlee Weinmann. The conversation features a number of topics, including: the trajectory electric vehicles hold in renewable energy technology, generally; the ways that cities in the wake of recent hurricanes can rebuild to better weather the storms thanks to energy resiliency; and how residents of cities, large and small, can pressure their communities to enact better policies.… Read More
12 Sep 2017

Press Release: Mayor Hodges’ Budget Would Make Minneapolis a National Clean Energy Leader

by | Date: 12 Sep 2017 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States, Press Release | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Cities across the country are grappling with extreme weather, rising sea levels, and an urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Many of them have committed to address this crisis. But the City of Minneapolis, under a budget proposed by Mayor Betsy Hodges, is poised to do something novel: put real resources behind its climate and energy pledge. The mayor’s budget proposal would unlock roughly $3 million in new funding, leveraging more than $20 million in utility conservation funds, and expand access to energy savings to many more residents and businesses.… Read More

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