A Call for Evergy to Do Better
Evergy customers are ready for a better future, one that includes clean energy, cost-saving measures that will keep rates under control, and an open utility planning process that includes voices traditionally left out of decision making. An emerging coalition of Kansans and Missourians--including communities of color and low-income communities--are eager to work with Evergy to achieve these goals. We call on Evergy to:
- Empower organizations led by the most impacted members of our communities, particularly our BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) and low income communities, to dismantle systems of oppression within the energy industry.
- Retire Evergy’s coal plants by 2025 and commit to no new expensive fossil fuel infrastructure, which will both improve public health and reduce electric bills.
- Decarbonize Evergy’s electric generation fleet by 2030 by investing in efficiency, renewable energy, and storage, which will both create jobs and reduce electric bills.
Our coalition contacted Evergy in early July, offering an opportunity for the utility to participate in crafting this strong vision for the future. The utility did not respond.
Regardless, we hope that every leader who believes in these goals will join us in our growing coalition. Together, we can strengthen our communities, push for equitable outcomes for our most vulnerable neighbors, and encourage Evergy to move into a healthier, cleaner, and more affordable future.
Want to Get Involved?
We need your help to make Kansas and Missouri families and economies healthier!
Click here to add your name to this Vision For a New Evergy.
Do you represent an organization that would like to learn more about our coalition? Are you interested in volunteering or otherwise pitching in to lend a hand? Click here to fill out a short form on ways you can help make this Vision For a New Evergy into a reality.
A Vision for Evergy’s Future
We envision an Evergy that works with diverse local leadership to meet the needs of low income communities, works with municipalities to meet greenhouse gas emissions goals, and works for the future by investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy infrastructure.
In the past, utilities like Evergy could safely assume that building a new fossil fuel power plant would be a safe investment, easily paid for down the road by regulators and ratepayers. However, utilities can no longer count on huge up-front price tags to be good for their business. In many places, it is now more affordable to pursue energy efficiency and build new renewable energy sources--like wind and solar--than it is to keep existing coal plants open. Fossil gas infrastructure will soon become stranded assets (meaning it costs more to operate than to retire and replace); gas carries too many risks from emerging storage technologies, environmental regulations and commodity prices.
There are still groups pushing new fossil fuel projects in Kansas, even though they are bad for customers and investors. Evergy must overcome pressure from the fossil fuel industry and join other successful utilities across the Midwest that have adopted well-designed, forward-thinking plans. In this way, Evergy can become a leader in the clean energy economy while advocating for the best interests of their communities.
Evergy must also support low income communities by increasing and expanding energy efficiency programs, reducing high priced rate structures, and investing in clean energy. Many low income families spend a large portion of their income on their electric bills, and can’t afford home improvements--like energy-efficient windows, improved insulation, or new appliances--that would reduce their energy use. Low-income households are also more likely to live close to polluting power plants or factories, leading to higher rates of asthma and other health issues. By transitioning to clean energy, Evergy can address these health concerns and bring down electricity costs at the same time.
In early 2021, Evergy will file a long-range plan, called an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), with regulators in Kansas and Missouri; this IRP will outline how the utility intends to provide safe, reliable, and affordable electricity over the next twenty years. This will be Evergy’s first IRP since the utility was formed in 2018, and the first utility IRP in Kansas history. Evergy is also undergoing an internal review process to determine whether it might merge with another utility or follow a new path to improved performance. Either way, Kansans and Missourians should have a voice in shaping Evergy’s plans and ensure those plans meet community needs, especially during current health, economic, and environmental crises.
Want to Get Involved?
We need your help to make Kansas and Missouri families and economies healthier!
Click here to add your name to this Vision For a New Evergy.
Do you represent an organization that would like to learn more about our coalition? Are you interested in volunteering or otherwise pitching in to lend a hand? Click here to fill out a short form on ways you can help make this Vision For a New Evergy into a reality.
Ready to Learn More?
Here are some additional resources on the issues shaping energy policy in Kansas and Missouri:
Kansas Pays the Price: This 2019 report from the Sierra Club outlines Evergy’s commitment to coal-fired power, and how Evergy’s choices are costing ratepayers money and keeping energy prices unnecessarily high.
Utility Experts Recommend Big Changes to Kansas Electric Companies: In early 2020, the consulting firm London Economics released a report on Kansas’s high energy prices, identifying steps the state could take to get those high rates under control. This Sierra Club blog post explains why the report was commissioned by the Kansas Legislature, what’s covered in the report, and what happens next.
Shining Cities 2020: A report from Environment Missouri on the top U.S. cities for solar energy, including Wichita, KS, Kansas City, MO, and St. Louis, MO.
The True Value of Solar: Kansas and Missouri both have huge potential for solar energy. This Environment America report looks at the value of rooftop solar, including hidden benefits to the environment and the economy.