Energy Democracy for All
Energy Democracy is local people having control of how their electricity is produced and distributed to ensure everyone has access to affordable and clean power.
Two decades into the 21st century, advances in solar panels, battery storage, modernized electric grids and other technologies are revolutionizing how our electricity can be produced and distributed. But large utility companies with monopoly control over the market — such as Duke Energy and Dominion Energy — are keeping us locked into using increasingly expensive polluting fuels like coal and fracked gas to generate our electricity.
At the same time, the increasing impacts of global climate change, including dangerous heat waves and severe storms, are taking a toll on countless communities, but especially disadvantaged communities and communities of color. And monopoly utility companies charge ever higher rates while they knowingly continue to worsen the climate crisis.
But a movement toward Energy Democracy is growing across Appalachia and throughout the country. Local individuals and groups are standing up to demand a seat at the table with decision makers to ensure we transition to a system that is affordable and fair, provides community wealth and jobs, and is built on clean, renewable energy.
Why Energy Democracy?
Learn how monopoly control and a focus on profit have locked us in a pattern of polluting fossil fuels and ever higher rates
State-Specific Info
Tell Congress: Support new power plant regulations
Our legislators need to support the EPA’s new rules to slash power plant pollution
Latest News
When “clean” energy isn’t
Once the planet’s temperature rises 1.5 degrees Celsius due to global warming, “the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse polish off their martinis, look at each other, and say, ‘It’s go time.’”
TVA Faces Criticism Over Coal Ash, Transparency
The Tennessee Valley Authority and its contractor Jacobs Engineering are facing a new lawsuit regarding their cleanup of the 2008 Kingston coal ash spill. Additionally, state and federal lawmakers are backing a U.S. House bill that would require more transparency from the monopoly utility.
Disrupting the Status Quo and Putting People and Planet First
We are committed to disrupting a status quo designed to line the pockets of the government-protected utility monopolies who have been calling the shots. We are citizens demanding a system that puts people and the planet first.
North Carolina Orders Coal Ash Cleanup, Duke Appeals
North Carolina ordered Duke Energy to fully excavate the coal ash at its six remaining coal ash sites across the state, prompting an appeal from the monopoly utility.
New Coalition Aims to Reform Energy Policy in Virginia
In early May, we joined eight other organizations representing a wide range of public policy ideologies to introduce the Virginia Energy Reform Coalition aimed at lowering prices and increasing choices for ratepayers while improving the environment.
Progress on Coal Ash in North Carolina
On April 1, we celebrated the welcome news that the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality ordered Duke Energy to excavate the six coal ash sites in the state that did not already have cleanup plans in place.
