Input Needed on Integrated Resource Plans for WV

Dear Friends in WV & elsewhere:

Help make sure West Virginia’s electric utilities put their customers first.

This year, our electric utilities will be writing long term plans, called Integrated Resource Plans, for how they will power West Virginia. The West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) will issue its order for the utilities to begin drafting their plans by March 31st, helping to guide utilities long-term plans.

These plans could be written in secret in corporate backrooms and continue the status quo of polluting and increasingly expensive coal-fired electricity generation — or they can be written with public input to put increasingly affordable clean energy and energy efficiency front and center. Studies have shown that there are thousands of jobs to gain and hundreds of millions of dollars to save across West Virginia through strong energy efficiency programs, but we need to continue speaking out to make clean, efficient, affordable energy a reality in West Virginia. (Reference below.)

Write the Public Service Commissioners now to let them know that you want to them to issue an order for long-term energy plans that focuses on clean, affordable energy and public participation.

Send a message to the West Virginia PSC for long-term energy planning that focuses on clean, affordable energy and public participation.

As a life-long resident of West Virginia, having grown up in Beckley, I’ve seen firsthand the effects of collusion between big business and government officials when they are not held accountable to the people they serve and represent. Corporate interests have held back development in this state by clinging to outdated, polluting technologies. As a student of economics at West Virginia University and a state activist, I’ve made it my mission to promote a truly progressive path towards safe, clean, and efficient energy policy that will lead to prosperity for all West Virginians. Will you join me in speaking out for affordable and clean energy that puts the residents of West Virginia first?

Let Public Service Commissioners Michael Albert and Brooks McCabe know that you support an effective and consumer friendly Integrated Resource Plan — send your message today!

Together, we can make a difference in the decision making process and secure an environmentally and financially sound future for all of West Virginia. By working towards an effective Integrated Resource Plan, we will help to make this a reality.

Thanks for all you do to protect the environment,

Travis Boothe
Policy Team Leader, Energy Efficiency Campaign
West Virginia Sierra Club

Reference: Save Money, Create Jobs: How Energy Efficiency Can Work for West Virginia, Optimal Energy, November 2012

See also: www.FrackCheckWV.net

Tagged as: coal, Electricity, geothermal, Integrated Resource Plans, natural gas, Public Service Commission, solar, wind, wv