Rebecca Kling, Press Secretary, The Sierra Club, rebecca.kling@sierraclub.org
Bridget Sanderson, Director, Environment Missouri, bsanderson@environmentmissouri.org
KANSAS CITY, MO -- Today marks the release of a new vision for Evergy’s future, created by a partnership of the Climate + Energy Project, Environment Missouri, and the Kansas and Missouri chapters of the Sierra Club. These groups 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.
The Climate + Energy Project, Environment Missouri, and the Kansas and Missouri chapters of the Sierra Club 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, within the next year Evergy will file a new long-range energy plan, called an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), with regulators in Kansas and Missouri. 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.
Click here to read expanded details about this vision for Evergy’s future.
“Kansas and Missouri must take advantage of every opportunity available to move quickly toward a healthier, more sustainable future where our states are not dependent on fossil fuels. Evergy’s IRP process is one of those opportunities, and we have to hold them accountable to their customers,” said Bridget Sanderson, director of Environment Missouri. “Ratepayers, especially those most affected by the damages of climate change, should be at the table to decide the future of their utility company. And they want a clean energy future, which will clean up our air, improve public health and reduce electric bills.”
“We are in the middle of a climate crisis, made worse by the economic and social devastation of COVID-19,” said Andy Knott, Senior Campaign Representative for Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign in Kansas and Missouri. “Now is the time for Evergy to work with impacted communities, build a strong path towards clean energy, and plan for a future that truly works for all their customers in Kansas and Missouri.”
“Climate + Energy Project (CEP) is proud to support A Vision for a New Evergy. We are undergoing a transformational time in energy and electricity, and adding more voices to the table will create more balance and transparency with how energy policy is developed”, said Dorothy Barnett, Executive Director of Climate + Energy Project. “We have an urgent need to leverage the intersections of climate, health, and economic disparities to reach equitable climate solutions.
About the Climate and Energy Project
CEP is a Kansas-based, non-partisan 501(c)3 that seeks to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in America's Heartland through the ambitious deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy, in policy and practice. For more information, visit www.climateandenergy.org
About Environment Missouri
Environment Missouri works for clean air, clean water, clean energy, wildlife and open spaces, and a livable climate. Our members across the state put grassroots support behind our research and advocacy. Environment Missouri’s mission is to transform the power of our imaginations and our ideas into change that makes our world a greener and healthier place for all. Environment Missouri is part of Environment America, a national network of 29 state environmental groups. For more information, visit www.environmentmissouri.org
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.