DC Climate Crisis and Ratepayer Advocates:

Apologies for jumping into your inbox during the holiday weekend but we have something extremely important to share about what is happening in five days.

Next Wednesday, at 10:00 AM. the DC Council Committee on Transportation and the Environment will be holding a mark-up of the Local Solar Expansion Amendment Act of 2022.

The DC Environmental Network, Office of People’s Council, and other organizations and advocates have been engaged in a campaign to oppose the latest version of this legislation. We believe a better bill, that strengthens our solar industry and does not hurt ratepayers, is possible. Our economists and renewable energy experts shared a proposal that was never fully considered.

Today the DC Environmental Network sent a new letter to Chairperson Cheh’s committee with some of our latest thinking. Some of the themes of the letter:

• Request Committee on Transportation and Environment committee oppose latest version of Local Solar Expansion Amendment Act of 2022 at November 30th markup.
• We want to help our local solar industry avoid the strategies and behaviors that utility and fossil fuel companies use to cushion their bottom line. Who do we want to be?
• Our climate crisis movement helped create the most generous Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) in the country.
• Advocates tried to develop a compromise that would strengthen the solar industry over time and protect ratepayers from a regressive policy. We are still willing to collaborate with stakeholders on our proposal in the coming year.
• We outline the principles of our compromise and general details of our proposal.
• Local solar industry lobbyists are using the unsupported threat of job losses to try and create another round of subsidies.
• Regressive subsidies were never meant to be renewed, even expanded, year after year.
• The bill’s provisions do not sufficiently offset increases in electric utility rates for low- and moderate-income (LMI) households.
• This bill charges ratepayers to support ratepayers.
• We can do better. We have time over the next six months to put a better bill together that does far more good at far less cost.
• Our team of economists and clean energy policy experts are ready to meet with each one of you.

Here is a pdf of the letter. Let us know if you want to participate in upcoming meetings and other campaign activities before next Wednesday at 10:00 AM.

DC Environmental Network

The bill’s provisions do not sufficiently offset increases in electric utility rates for low- and moderate-income (LMI) households.