Welcome to Rochester for Energy Democracy (R.E.D.)!

For this RED Campaign meeting, we will continue preparations to march in the Rochester Pride Parade, including painting our banner! We will also discuss our plan to fight rate hikes proposed by RG&E in the most recent rate case, as well as other opportunities to continue growing our movement to takeover RG&E with a public, local, and community-controlled utility. 

We will be gathering at Genesee Valley Park at the Roundhouse and Canalside Shelters area! Please RSVP below! We welcome folks bringing snacks and drinks to share if you would like to do so. 

For some background on RED: For-profit, investor-owned utilities like RG&E keep raising our rates, only to neglect maintenance of the grid and expand fossil fuel infrastructure. On top of that, oil and gas continue to lobby against a fast and massive transition to renewable energy. As a result, we all pay more than we should in energy bills while the continued use of fossil fuels pushes us towards catastrophic environmental damage. 

In R.E.D., we believe that in order to combat the climate crisis and ensure environmental justice in the long-term, we must fundamentally transform our energy economy. We need to build an energy system that meets the needs of communities instead of meeting the greed of distant investors and CEOs. We also need a shift to energy that is 100% clean and renewable. We believe this is possible if we takeover RG&E with a public, local, and community controlled utility. This will give communities a say in what kind of energy we use, whom we get it from, and how the money we pay is used to benefit our community. Furthermore, everyone could only pay what is necessary to develop and maintain energy infrastructure, taking millions in profits for investors and CEOs out of the picture. We can also make sure that all jobs associated with the utility are local union jobs that pay family-sustaining wages with benefits. 

A community-driven energy system needs the involvement of people in our community to succeed. To join us at our next meeting, please RSVP below! If this will be your first time attending a R.E.D. Organizing Meeting, our Lead Organizer, Mohini, will follow-up with you to meet 1-on-1 sometime before the upcoming meeting. Before you attend your first meeting, we would like to learn more about why this is important to you, bring you up to speed on our campaign so far, and answer any questions you have!