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Authored by: Beth Pauley, Program Director
I’ve been in nonprofit advocacy for 8 years, and during this time, have witnessed a lot of changes, friction, crises, and disruption. Despite being accustomed to change and uncertainty, nothing could have prepared me for the way the pandemic altered my life. As my colleague Rachel Myslivy wrote about two weeks ago, the same is true for Climate + Energy Project’s approach to the work. Our mission has been sharpened to formally adopt energy justice frameworks, and our outreach has expanded to make energy justice a reality in Kansas. This letter is a reflection on the progress we have made, and the pathway ahead to ensuring every Kansan has access to clean, renewable, and affordable energy.
Energy Access During COVID-19
During the pandemic, CEP joined local, regional, and national allies to call on elected officials and utilities to ban utility shut offs, cancel utility dept, and keep Kansans safe during the pandemic. Local organizers won several temporary utility shut off moratoria, and we continue to advocate for more meaningful local and federal action. This Fall, CEP was proud to support Representative Tlaib’s Utility Debt Cancellation Bill, emphasizing that “we cannot pursue a just transition while so many Kansans are struggling. We need to continue to address the energy poverty crisis by implementing equitable energy efficiency and community solar programs, with impacted communities leading the policies and program implementation. Kansans need to have their basic needs met in order to organize for long term climate solutions.”
Shalanda H. Baker serves as the Secretarial Advisor on Equity and as Deputy Director for Energy Justice in the Office of Economic Impact and Diversity at the U.S. Department of Energy. Prior to her appointment, she was a Professor of Law, Public Policy and Urban Affairs, at Northeastern University. She has spent over a decade conducting research on the equity dimensions of the global transition away from fossil fuel energy to cleaner energy resources. She is the author of over a dozen articles, book chapters, and essays on renewable energy law, energy justice, energy policy, and renewable energy development. In 2016, she received a Fulbright-Garcia-Robles research fellowship to study climate change, energy policy, and indigenous rights in Mexico. She is the Co-Founder and former Co-Director of the Initiative for Energy Justice (www.iejusa.org), an organization committed to providing technical law and policy support to communities on the frontlines of climate change.
Energy Justice in Washington, D.C.
While meaningful federal pandemic relief has been slow moving, CEP celebrated as two familiar energy justice activists and academics earned federal appointments at the Department of Energy. Dr. Tony Reames, Senior Advisor: Office of Impact and Diversity, cut his teeth on energy justice right here in Kansas and Kansas City. Shalanda Baker, Secretarial Advisor on Equity and Deputy Director for Energy Justice, was our special Keynote speaker at our annual event this year.
Local Advocacy
Advancing energy justice requires co-creating policies with impacted communities, preventing attacks that would undermine these efforts, while continuing towards our north star goal of every Kansan having access to clean, affordable, renewable energy. This year, CEP has been active in all of these areas.
Shortly into the year, we learned that the Kansas Corporation Commission unanimously voted in our favor to reject Evergy’s discriminatory grid access fee and regressive $35 minimum bill. This victory came months after CEP and our allies mobilized over 1,000 Kansans to urge the commissioners to reject both of these fees, giving local organizers wind underneath our wings to continue fighting for energy justice without discriminatory policies holding us back.
Organizing with Impacted Communities
There is a difference between “speaking for” impacted communities and “organizing with and learning from” impacted communities. Throughout the fall, we met with residents from the 67214 zip code in Wichita to co-create a People’s Energy Plan centered around energy efficiency policies that would prioritize residents in this community.
On November 18th, Evergy joined Community Captains and more than 80 guests at our town hall and committed to fully funding a Pay as You Save program in their upcoming energy efficiency filing at the Kansas Corporation Commission. This win would get us closer to our north star goal of access to clean, affordable energy for all.
Your support gives us the ability to reach more people to ensure their vision is included in our advocacy. Because of the success in 2021, we are poised to have an even bigger year in 2022. Please donate for energy justice today.
