Tag: Catskills Fracking

Stop CenHud Rate Increase Hearing Sept.12 & 20

Please share this widely!

There’s a Central Hudson rate case that was just opened earlier this summer; the company is requesting an increase in electricity costs for customers in our region. We’d like to invite your organization to get involved!

There’s a few ways you can take a stand against electric & gas bill costs!

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Instructions on Registering to Make a Statement

*You must register BY 4:30pm on the day before the hearing. Give yourself extra time to jump through the tech hoops in the registration process! For the hearing, keep your comment to about 1 page long, because there’s a time limit.

STEP 1: Click on the blue links below for the hearing you want to speak at

STEP 2: Enter the password for that specific hearing

STEP 3: Click “Register” (DO NOT CLICK “OK”) underneath

the enter the webinar password box

STEP 4: Click “Register” in the box that appears on the right

STEP 5: Fill out the form & BE SURE TO CHOOSE THE “Yes, I’d like to make a statement” box

Online Hearing One: Tuesday, September 12th at 1pm

Event Number: 2345 253 2876

Password: Sept12-1pm

Phone Access: 518-549-0500

Access Code: 2345 253 2876

Phone-in password: 73781201

Online Hearing Two: Tuesday, September 12th at 5pm

Event Number: 2336 265 2934

Password: Sept12-5pm

Phone Access: 518-549-0500

Access Code: 2336 265 2934

Phone-in password: 73781205

Online Hearing Three: Wednesday, September 20th at 1pm

Event Number: 2338 342 7497

Password: Sept20-1pm

Phone Access: 518-549-0500

Access Code: 2338 342 7497

Phone-in password: 73782001

Online Hearing Four: Wednesday, September 20th at 5pm

Event Number: 2334 829 1678

Password: Sept20-5pm

Phone Access: 518-549-0500

Access Code: 2334 829 1678

Phone-in password: 73782005

Share your story, or the stories of people you advocate for!

Tell decisionmakers whether or not Central Hudson should be rewarded with a rate increase & tell them why you feel the way you do.

Talk about your problems with Central Hudson & whether or not they’ve been remedied.

What effect has being a Central Hudson customer had on your emotional wellbeing or finances, or on the people you help?

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Want an official seat at the bargaining table? Become an an “intervenor” in this rate case.

Anyone, and any organization, can sign up to be an official “party” (also known as an “intervenor”) to the upcoming rate case that will determine how much CenHud customers will pay for their electricity. CLP has been a party to Central Hudson rate cases for over a decade; we’ve had some success, and we can share information and resources with you.

What is a rate case?

A rate case is the formal process used to determine what utility companies can charge customers for the delivery of electricity, natural gas, private water and steam service. Interested persons and organizations can “intervene” and become “parties” in a utility company’s rate case.

Who can get involved in a rate case?

Intervenors include: industrial, commercial and other large-scale users of electricity; public interest groups; representatives of residential, low-income and elderly customers; local municipal officials; advocacy groups; and, ratepayers– people just like you!

What’s required (cost-wise, time-wise, etc) to become involved?

The cost is FREE. Folks and organizations who become intervenors will be be working with experienced groups who value and protect your time by letting you know:

  • What are the most crucial meetings, and when you should join them to speak up
  • How to write the various testimonies/discovery questions
  • What specific terms mean
  • When we need to make big decisions for the settlement as a whole, and what the various options and their outcomes might be

Please note– rate cases do take time and there are a lot of meetings to go to (currently virtual). Intervenors do not need to attend each meeting, but consistent participation is recommended.

Is there a deadline for becoming a party to the upcoming rate case?

No.

How long does the rate case process take?

The state body overseeing the process is the Public Service Commission (PSC), and they must make a decision within 11 months after a major rate case is filed. Rate cases proceed in an entirely public and open process.

Want to become an intervenor? Aren’t sure if it’s a good fit? Don’t have much time or want to commit, but want to stay involved?

Reach out to us at CLP! We can talk to you about ways you can make a difference, no matter the type of skills or amount of time you have. Email dacruz@communitiesforlocalpower.org and we can help get you in a solid place that suits your needs and capacity.

Want to share info about this absurd proposition, so that others are aware and can take action?

Forward this email!

Share our Sept.12th & 20th Online Public Hearing Guide w/registration instructions & evolving talking points/ideas for comments. Here’s a nice-looking link of the guide to share, also: bit.ly/cenhudrateincrease

Share our facebook post (or copy our post language and use it for an eblast or newsletter)!

In Solidarity,

Communities for Local Power

The Right To Ban Fracking

Frack Banner

 

New York’s highest court has ruled towns have the right to ban fracking. The seventy-nine towns with bans in place no longer have to worry about being sued. Town boards that once feared expensive lawsuits are now free to take action—and pro-fracking municipal officials who have used lawsuit concerns as an excuse for inaction now stand exposed. Some towns are already moving to adopt new bans—and you can be sure that citizens all across the state will be showing up at town meetings and demanding protective ordinances.

In its decision, the Court of Appeals found that the state legislature has the right to pass a law that would invalidate local bans, but that seems unlikely in the current political climate. The big question is, what does the ruling mean for towns without bans? Well, that depends on who’s elected governor this fall. There is widespread concern that if Governor Cuomo is reelected he will use the Court of Appeals decision to open New York to fracking while claiming he’s respecting “the will of the people”—communities that want fracking can have it, and communities that don’t can ban it. Zephyr Teachout, who is challenging Cuomo in the Democratic primary, is calling for a statewide ban, as is Green party candidate Howie Hawkins. The Republican candidate, Rob Astorino, has promised to frack New York on his first day in office.

Don’t wait until it’s too late. Demand a statewide ban now, before the elections, while we have maximum political leverage.

RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS DIVEST FROM FOSSIL FUELS

Last week, the World Council of Churches, which represents 345 churches with a total of 590 million members, announced that it would no longer invest in fossil-fuel corporations and urged its member churches to follow suit. This is just the latest sign that faith communities are preparing to play a major role in combating climate change. In recent weeks, the Union Theological Seminary and Philadelphia-area Friends (Quakers) also announced they were shedding fossil-fuel investments.

Faith leaders have also begun to speak out on environmental issues with the same moral fervor that is usually used to address human rights. In April, The Guardian published an op ed by South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu calling for an “apartheid style boycott” of the fossil fuel industry. Tutu wrote “people of conscience need to break their ties with corporations financing the injustice of climate change.” And Pope Francis has also signaled that stewardship of the planet is likely to be one of his signal issues as head of the Roman Catholic Church. Speaking at an Italian university, he termed the ruthless exploitation of the environment “our sin,” and called sustainable development “one of the greatest challenges of our time.”

THE SOLUTIONS GRASSROOTS TOUR
Josh Fox, the Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning director of Gasland and Gasland 2 is back with The Solutions Grassroots Tour, an interactive multimedia event designed to encourage communities to adopt renewable energy strategies. Catskill Citizens is proud to cosponsor the first performance workshop at 3:30 PM on Sunday, July 27th, at the Delaware Youth Center in Callicoon, NY.

A second performance is set for 7:00 PM on Tuesday July 29th at the Hunt Union Ballroom at SUNY Oneonta. A national tour will get underway later his year.

For details and tickets, go to The Solutions Grassroots Tour.

This information gathered and re-posted from Catskill Citizens For Clean Energy. For in-depth and up to date information on Fracking resistance in NY and the Castskills visit them at www.CatskillCitizens.org