Edward Smith, edward.smith@sierraclub.org
St. Louis, MO - Today elected leaders from the St. Louis region joined environmental organizations in calling for an extension of Spire’s certificate to operate its pipeline throughout the winter season along with robust consumer protections. In an attempt to ease the panic that Spire is spreading among its customers, local elected leaders and the Environmental Defense Fund each submitted a comment letter with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) calling for an expedited extension.
“We have urged FERC to act quickly on Spire’s temporary certificate application, and we urge Spire to stop scaring its customers,” said Natalie Karas, Senior Director and Lead Counsel, Energy Markets & Utility Regulation with the Environmental Defense Fund. “Prompt action from FERC will remediate the fear and confusion brought on by Spire’s email.”
The uncertainty stems from the D.C. Circuit’s ruling that FERC’s review of the Spire pipeline was seriously deficient and ignored evidence of self-dealing.
Despite the fact that FERC has already issued a temporary certificate to keep the pipeline operational and is poised to extend that certificate, Spire sent an email to its customers raising fears that they would be unable to heat their homes within weeks. This caused panic among its customers. People took to social media sites like NextDoor, Facebook, and Twitter to share their concerns about the email that Spire sent, effectively doing what Spire intended.
“Spire is using a crumb of uncertainty to create fear and distract from its self-dealing,” said Lisa Clancy, St. Louis County Councilwoman. “I have spent my career working with low-income individuals and families and can tell you that their lives are hard enough without having to needlessly fear they could go cold this winter.”
Yesterday, FERC added the Spire STL pipeline to the agenda for its next meeting on Thursday, November 18, 2021, where it is expected to authorize extended use through the winter. Spire also refiled its request with FERC to permanently operate the pipeline.
“While Spire is spreading fear about reliability this winter, the utility has disconnected 30,655 customers for late payment since January,” said Christine Ingrassia, Alderwoman in the City of St. Louis. “This comes during an uneven economic recovery following mass unemployment from the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s hard to take Spire seriously that it cares about environmental justice when it’s disconnecting customers.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of 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.