More than two dozen organizations and small businesses across the state (full list below) are urging the Public Utility Commission to adopt a recent rulemaking petition that aims to help fix the grid and lower utility costs for everyday Texans.
In joint comments to the PUC on its recent energy efficiency project – opened as a result of a Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter rulemaking petition – the groups are supporting a reasonable approach that would require private utilities to increase their spending on programs that help residential and small businesses reduce peak winter and summer use and lower overall energy use.
“The less energy we all use, the more the grid stabilizes, the more bills go down, and the healthier our environment and communities become,” said Cyrus Reed, conservation director of the Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter. “We can do this through energy efficiency – weatherizing homes and small businesses with insulation, installing programmable thermostats, and buying more efficient appliances. But wealthy utilities have proven they won’t robustly support these programs on their own, so we need the PUC to require changes that truly serve Texans.”
The groups are specifically recommending that the Commission nearly double utilities’ summer and winter peak demand reduction goals and quadruple energy savings accomplishments by 2025, all of which would help thousands of Texans, particularly those who are low income and who live in apartments, as well as small businesses. They also are urging the PUC to limit the bonuses that utilities pay to their shareholders – with ratepayer money – just for meeting lackluster and outdated energy efficiency quotas.
“Industry and its shareholders have profited big when everyday Texans are feeling the pain of pricey gas and increasing rates,” said Corey Troiani of Texas Campaign for the Environment. “And we’ve just survived the worry of grid collapse during a record-hot summer and are wondering what extremes will come this winter. These are all signs that PUC needs to act for the people, not the special interests.”
“The climate crisis is not going anywhere, and it’s time that the PUC plans for the future instead of letting Texans pay the tab every time,” said Carmen Cavezza, of the Coalition for Environment, Equity and Resilience. “We can’t forge ahead with this blind allegiance to volatile, polluting fossil fuels. Energy efficiency, combined with wind and solar, cleans the air, helps the grid, puts money back in people’s pockets, and can save lives. And it enjoys bipartisan support.”
The Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter filed a rulemaking petition in August to amend state statute, and the PUC is accepting comments on the item until Sept. 16. The PUC must act by Oct. 11 by either adopting or rejecting the rulemaking or by opening up a separate rulemaking.
Full list of signers
Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter
Texas Campaign for the Environment
Coalition of Community Organizations, Houston
Clean Water Action, Austin
Coalition for Environment, Equity, and Resilience, Houston
Midlothian Breathe, Midlothian
Environment Texas, Austin
Solar United Neighbors, Austin
Another Gulf Is Possible Collaborative, Brownsville
Ground Game Texas
Liveable Arlington, Arlington
PODER, Austin
Larry L. Linenschmidt, volunteer member, Citizens Climate Lobby, Austin
South Texas Environmental Justice Network, Brownsville
Commission Shift, Laredo
Public Citizen Texas
U.S. Green Building Council Texas
Terra Lumina Consulting, Austin
LUPE, San Juan
Promote Care & Prevent Harm
Texas Climate Jobs, Austin
Grassroots Leadership, Austin
Jolt Action, Austin
Black Voters Matter Fund
Indivisible Austin
Mission:data Coalition, Seattle, WA