Local Energy Rules

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell and guest Bryan Hannegan discuss how cultural change, led by the customers, pushed Holy Cross Energy to offer innovative programs in its transition to 100 percent renewable energy. |

Show page available: https://ilsr.org/holy-cross-energy-cooperative-co-ler159/ |

Listen to all of our Local Energy Rules podcast episodes at our site: https://ilsr.org/local-energy-rules-podcast-homepage |

Don't forget to subscribe, share with your friends, leave a recommendation on our podcast feeds, and join the conversation online using the #LocalEnergyRules hashtag!

Monopoly energy utilities have accrued vast service territories and extraordinary financial power — which they have used to purchase political power. At this point, state regulatory and legislative bodies can only do so much to rein them in.

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell speaks with Howard Crystal and Liz Veazey. Crystal, Legal Director of the Energy Justice Program at the Center for Biological Diversity, and Veazey, Policy and Rural Energy Director at Solar United Neighbors, were two cosigners on a recent petition to the Federal Trade Commission. The Institute for Local Self-Reliance also signed the petition. Crystal and Veazey explain the petition and why electric utility practices require federal investigation.

Listen to the full episode and explore more resources below — including a transcript and summary of the conversation.

https://ilsr.org/articles/ftc-petition-utility-abuses-ler158/

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell and guests Howard Crystal and Liz Veazey discuss a recent petition to the Federal Trade Commission and why electric utility practices require federal investigation. |

Show page available: https://ilsr.org/ftc-petition-utility-abuses-ler158/ |

Listen to all of our Local Energy Rules podcast episodes at our site: https://ilsr.org/local-energy-rules-podcast-homepage |

Don't forget to subscribe, share with your friends, leave a recommendation on our podcast feeds, and join the conversation online using the #LocalEnergyRules hashtag!

Utility companies are meddling with elections, exploiting disasters for financial gain, and chronically neglecting their equipment. Could public takeovers, which remove a utility’s profit motive and install public oversight, be the remedy?

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, we’re re-releasing John Farrell’s 2018 interview with Andrew Johnson and Joel Zook of Decorah Power. They discuss how a municipal electric utility could better serve Decorah residents and the city’s 2018 referendum to municipalize (which failed by just three votes).

Listen to the full episode and explore more resources below — including a transcript and summary of the conversation.

https://ilsr.org/articles/archive-decorah-power-ballot-ler157/

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, a rebroadcast from the archive, guests Andrew Johnson and Joel Zook join host John Farrell to discuss how a municipal electric utility could better serve Decorah residents and the city’s 2018 referendum to municipalize (which failed by just three votes). |

Show page available: https://ilsr.org/archive-decorah-power-ballot-ler157/ |

Listen to all of our Local Energy Rules podcast episodes at our site: https://ilsr.org/local-energy-rules-podcast-homepage |

Don't forget to subscribe, share with your friends, leave a recommendation on our podcast feeds, and join the conversation online using the #LocalEnergyRules hashtag!

Utilities have more than a century of experience in maintaining their monopolies. Thanks to organizers at the Energy Democracy Project, the people now have a playbook that exposes utility tactics and shares proven strategies to advance energy justice.

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell speaks with Yesenia Rivera, Director of Energy Equity and Inclusion at Solar United Neighbors and member of the Energy Democracy Project. Rivera was also a project anchor for the People’s Utility Justice Playbook and its companion, the People’s History of Utilities. Farrell and Rivera discuss how to combat utility tactics that undermine energy democracy.

Listen to the full episode and explore more resources below — including a transcript and summary of the conversation.

https://ilsr.org/articles/peoples-utility-playbook-ler156/

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell and guest Yesenia Rivera discuss the People’s Utility Justice Playbook and how to combat utility tactics that undermine energy democracy. |

Show page available: https://ilsr.org/peoples-utility-playbook-ler156/ |

Listen to all of our Local Energy Rules podcast episodes at our site: https://ilsr.org/local-energy-rules-podcast-homepage |

Don't forget to subscribe, share with your friends, leave a recommendation on our podcast feeds, and join the conversation online using the #LocalEnergyRules hashtag!

Using an iPhone solely as an iPod would be a waste, but this failure to harness smart technology’s full potential is happening with electric meters across the United States. Customers have paid their utility for hardware and installation, but the utility won’t enable the meter’s “smart” functions.

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, a rebroadcast from the Building Local Power Podcast, host John Farrell speaks with Michael Murray. Murray is president of the Mission Data Coalition. Farrell and Murray discuss how utilities are resisting data portability, even though customers have a right to their own data.

Listen to the full episode and explore more resources below — including a transcript and summary of the conversation.

https://ilsr.org/articles/utilities-customer-data-portability-ler155/

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, a rebroadcast from the Building Local Power Podcast, host John Farrell and guest Michael Murray discuss how utilities are resisting data portability, even though customers have a right to their own data. |

Show page available: https://ilsr.org/utilities-customer-data-portability-ler155 |

Listen to all of our Local Energy Rules podcast episodes at our site: https://ilsr.org/local-energy-rules-podcast-homepage |

Don't forget to subscribe, share with your friends, leave a recommendation on our podcast feeds, and join the conversation online using the #LocalEnergyRules hashtag!

Monopoly electric utilities are digging their heels in; warding off competition and protecting their market power by any means necessary. Despite the vast resources of their opponents, several U.S. communities have won recent battles for energy democracy.

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, a rebroadcast from the Building Local Power Podcast, we share a recording of ILSR’s recent event Democratizing Power: New Citizen Initiatives Challenge Monopoly Electric Utilities. In the January 2022 event, ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell and John Farrell facilitated a conversation with four advocates. The conversations center around how communities have challenged monopoly power using many tactics, including a ballot initiative, antitrust litigation, and grassroots organizing.

Listen to the full episode and explore more resources below — including a transcript and summary of the conversation.

https://ilsr.org/articles/democratizing-power-event-ler154/