PUBLIC HEARING: NY State's Energy Vision - Raise Your Voice!

Can't afford your energy bills?

Concerned about climate change?

Want more local control over our energy future?

Raise your voice at the upcoming Public Hearing on NY State's "Reforming the Energy Vision" plan.

Each Public Hearing will be preceded by an Informational Forum sponsored by the State Public Service Commission.

DATE: Thursday, January 29, 2015
FORUM / HEARING Times: 2:00PM/3:00PM;  6:00PM/7:00PM
PLACE: Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, 1 Lafayette Square, Buffalo [Map]

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is seeking to inform and obtain public comment on their regulatory component of Gov. Cuomo's "Reforming the Energy Vision" (REV) plan. The plan will promote more energy efficiency, greater use of renewable energy resources such as wind and solar, and “distributed” energy resources, such as micro grids, on-site power supplies, and storage.

As part of the REV process, the PSC is planning a 10-year phase out of government support and subsidies for clean energy development, in favor of a market-oriented approach. The REV proceeding will determine what role New York’s utility companies, like National Grid, will play in the energy system of the future. The PSC proposes to give utilities more control over designing, planning and managing the new energy markets in the hopes of motivating them to promote energy efficiency and renewables.

The Public Service Commission needs to hear the voices of the public, not just those of utility companies.

KEY ISSUES:
Grassroots public interest organizations from across New York have emphasized the following issues in response to the strong influence of utility companies and other for-profit corporations in the REV proceeding so far:

• Every New Yorker should have access to the benefits of clean energy

• New York must set and meet ambitious goals for greenhouse gas reductions

• There needs to be democratic participation in the energy system

• There is a need for regulation and consumer protections

TALKING POINTS:
The local Sierra Club is encouraging area residents to testify at the Public Hearing. To read suggestions for Talking Points by the Sierra Club Niagara Group, click here.

Detailed descriptions of Key Issues, additional Talking Points, a brief video and more are available at the Alliance for a Green Economy: click here. To download a printable description of REV plus Talking Points, click here, and a Testimony worksheet, click here.

PSC PUBLIC HEARING:
It is not necessary to be present at the start of the hearing, to make an appointment in advance, or to present written material to speak at the hearing. Persons will be called to speak after completing a request card.

For additional information provided by the PSC, click here.