Join Appalachian Voices to support a roster of bills that support affordable clean energy and energy development that puts people first in Southwest Virginia. These efforts include requiring Appalachian Power to allow additional shared solar opportunities in the region, and to create a program that allows customers the choice to connect their smart appliances to the grid and save money when electricity demand is high. 

The 2026 Virginia General Assembly will be in session from January 14 to March 16, and Appalachian Voices is working to pass several bills relevant to Southwest Virginia.

Among these are: 

• Ensuring Southwest Virginia benefits from affordable clean energy
• Bolstering community resilience and flood preparedness
• Common-sense safeguards around data center growth
• And, pending bill details, legislation to clean up minelands!

One of the most effective actions you can take is to simply pick up your phone and call elected officials to tell them what you’re concerned about. And when we all call about the same issues, we make a bigger impact. 

It’s more fun to make these calls together, so we’re hosting this Southwest Virginia Holler from the Hollers series to contact our legislators!

You can join us Friday Jan. 16, Jan. 30, and Feb.13 from 12-1 p.m. in-person (with pizza) at our Norton office — or join us online through Zoom! We will share information about a bill we have chosen to make calls about and give you a script so we can call our leaders together.

Once we’ve completed our calls, we’ll debrief and compare notes! Find registration information for each in-person and virtual call-in event below.