Breaking News!
We just learned that the Legislature’s Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee has scheduled a vote on the critically important Consumer Owned Utility Bill (COU). Now is the time to take action to make sure this bill is passed into law!
The bill is LD 1646 –"An Act To Restore Local Ownership and Control of Maine's Power Delivery Systems." This bill is a true breakthrough in the fight to prevent a climate catastrophe. It will allow Maine consumers to take control of our major utilities from foreign ownership, and use their unique role to achieve deep decarbonization of the electric grid by replacing petroleum with clean, affordable and reliable electricity. The Committee will vote on the bill on Friday, July 24th. The full legislature is expected to take up the bill soon after that.
According to economist Dr. Richard Silkman, LD 1646 will save Maine $9 billion over 30 years as we work toward our historic carbon goals. Fighting climate change won’t be possible with our current utility structure.
We need you to make calls and send emails today.
Please call Governor Mills, Speaker Gideon, and your legislators with a personal message urging them to support a Consumer Owned Utility. Please call them a.s.a.p.
Governor Janet Mills 207-287-3531 governor@maine.gov
Speaker of the House Sara Gideon 207-287-1300 sara.gideon@legislature.maine.gov
Senators: 207-287-1540
Representatives: 207-287-1400
When you reach them, tell them that a COU will:
- Allow us to reach our climate goals
- Put Mainers in the driver’s seat, not some distant investor-controlled corporation
- Improve service and reduce power outages
For more information, visit here.
Thank you for stepping us once again to advocate for real solutions to the climate crisis.
-Sierra Club Maine Chapter Legislative Team
“Arising in a state with a long record of nurturing democracy, the movement to democratize Maine’s utility sector is a vibrant example of the political imagination at work. The architects of this reform understand that the work of building a more perfect democracy and the cause of saving the planet are one and the same.”
— Frances Moore Lappé, author of Diet for a Small Planet and author or coauthor of 18 other books and cofounder of Small Planet Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts USA
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