We know that the coronavirus crisis is upending life as we know it across the U.S., and although some people have job security and healthcare, many of us don’t know how we will make ends meet. We hope you are staying safe and healthy during these difficult times. It is critical to maintain our physical distance while drawing ever closer in our hearts and common causes.
While many in our communities don’t know where the next paycheck will come from, oil and gas companies across the state are trying to force through dirty fracked gas and oil projects—projects that already harm people’s health and make their lungs more vulnerable to COVID-19. On top of that, as oil markets tumble, we cannot afford to let our elected leaders prop up the shaky boom-and-bust fossil fuel industry.
Clean energy resources in Texas are affordable and available, and now is the time for electric utilities to phase out all polluting energy sources. Garland Power & Light (GP&L) meets about a third of their energy needs with renewables, and they just signed additional utility-scale solar contracts and helped close the dirty Gibbons Creek Coal plant. However, they still need to do much more to transition the city to 100% clean, renewable energy. In our Texas Clean Energy Scorecard, GP&L received a failing grade because they still rely too much on fracked gas, they have yet to set a long-term renewable energy goal, and they also have not yet developed strong local solar programs or encouraged investments in electric vehicles.
Additionally, we appreciate that GP&L agreed to work with customers during the current pandemic and will not disconnect electric service for late payment or no payment altogether, but this is not enough. GP&L should be doing more to help its most limited-income and under-employed or unemployed customers by waiving late fees, offering real bill relief and direct payment assistance, and reconnecting anyone who has already been disconnected.
Send GP&L leadership and Mayor LeMay a letter urging them to extend the no disconnections timeline, reconnect all customers and provide real bill relief, set an interim 50% renewable energy goal and a longer-term 100% renewable goal, and implement community solar and electric vehicle programs.
