Urge Rochester City Council to replace RG&E with a public utility! - Metro Justice

Urge Rochester City Council to replace RG&E with a public utility!

Have you had enough of RG&E profitting off of failure for decades? Join Metro Justice in calling for a tried and true solution: a public utility! 

There's an answer to this problem with RG&E, and Metro Justice has been calling for it with our Rochester for Energy Democracy Campaign. We can turn RG&E into a public utility within the City of Rochester and Monroe County! Public utilities across the nation are proven to be more affordable, reliable, renewable, and economically beneficial to their local communities than private utilities. Rochester area residents have a chance for a real solution - NY state law states that with an implementation study and a positive referendum, RG&E would be forced to sell to the public. 

It's time to call on the Rochester City Council to take the RG&E crisis seriously and take the first step towards a solution: allocating up to $500 thousand for an implementation study on taking over RG&E in City and Monroe County area and turning it into a public utility. City Council has the money, including up to $2 million of unspent money from the 2022 budget. This $500 thousand would go towards a joint fund with Monroe County, so that the City and County are partnering to commission the study. This study would give us a comprehensive road map for establishing a public utility that is affordable, responsive to your needs, local, renewable, and invested in our local workforce and economy.

City Council has the power to stop $108 million a year from bleeding out of our community to line RG&E's shareholders' pockets despite gross mismanagement. They owe it to residents to act on the RG&E crisis, and they need to hear from you to do so! 

The next City Council meeting is Thursday, February 16th at Rochester City Hall (30 Church Street, Rochester, NY, 14614). The Public Comment period begins at 6 PM, so please plan to arrive by 5:40 PM if possible so that you have time to park, go through security, and find the Chambers. 

To join us:

- The first step is to RSVP below to let us know you're coming! Whether you're speaking or coming to show to your support in the audience, we want to know that you'll be joining us! 

We highly encourage you to sign up to speak: hearing constituents share their RG&E stories and directly call on them to fund a study for a public utility is most effective in moving City Council to take action. To sign up to speak, you must either call 585-428-7538 or 585-428-7421, or email [email protected] as soon as possible. Please include your first and last name, mailing address, phone number, and the topic of your comments: urging City Council to commission and fund an implementation study for a public utility. If you sign up to speak, please email Mohini Sharma (mohini@metrojustice) and Michelle Wenderlich ([email protected]) to let us know! 

You will have a strict 2 minutes to speak, and people will speak in the order in which they signed up. Please plan to end your remarks with a call to City Council to allocate up to $500 thousand for an implementation study for a public takeover of RG&E in the City or Monroe County area, and to work with Metro Justice and Monroe County to commission the study. Here is a more detailed guideline for your remarks! 

Let's make sure our City Council sides with us, the ratepayers, instead of protecting RG&E! 

WHEN
February 16, 2023 at 6:00pm - 7:30pm
WHERE
Rochester City Hall
30 Church St
Rochester, NY 14614
United States
Google map and directions
CONTACT
Mohini Sharma · · 585-397-3534
99 RSVPS
Nick Kowalczuk Hunter Krienke Eddie Ivey Samantha Smith Amanda Santacroce Dominique Thompson S M Jeremy Robinson Bernard Alston Hillary Manley Jonathan Smelts Jerald Drain Evelyn Evans Kellie Miller Ronald Hall Zakary Skinner Samuel Genovese Cara Guth Seth Oser Embola Ekille Andrew Evans Winnie Graham Shawn Trim II Justin Koch Erick Stephens Bethany Bogardus Anaar Desai-Stephens Matt Shackelford Sydney Collins Christopher Coleman Julie Garrett peter peterson Rachel Crawford Carmelo Crassi L Turner Kinra Johnson Raymond Banks Gregory Lebens-Higgins Michael Paul Harold Jr Rajesh Barnabas Austin Retzlaff Mark Westcott Tom Smith Ellie Mellott Joseph Jones Tracy Threadcraft Isaac Harris Sophia Martinez

Who's RSVPing

Nick Kowalczuk
Hunter Krienke
Eddie Ivey
Samantha Smith
Amanda Santacroce
Dominique Thompson
S M
Jeremy Robinson
Bernard Alston
Hillary Manley
Jonathan Smelts
Jerald Drain
Evelyn Evans
Kellie Miller
Ronald Hall
Zakary Skinner
Samuel Genovese
Cara Guth
Seth Oser
Embola Ekille
Andrew Evans
Winnie Graham
Shawn Trim II
Justin Koch
Erick Stephens
Bethany Bogardus
Anaar Desai-Stephens
Matt Shackelford
Sydney Collins
Christopher Coleman

Will you come?

Showing 92 reactions

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  • Nick Kowalczuk
    rsvped 2023-02-16 11:06:07 -0500
  • Hunter Krienke
    rsvped 2023-02-16 01:13:10 -0500
  • Eddie Ivey
    rsvped 2023-02-14 15:10:54 -0500
  • Samantha Smith
    rsvped 2023-02-14 13:47:35 -0500
  • Amanda Santacroce
    rsvped 2023-02-14 13:46:42 -0500
  • Dominique Thompson
    rsvped 2023-02-14 13:45:47 -0500
  • S M
    rsvped 2023-02-14 13:44:28 -0500
  • Jeremy Robinson
    rsvped 2023-02-14 13:39:41 -0500
  • Bernard Alston
    rsvped 2023-02-14 13:38:32 -0500
  • Hillary Manley
    rsvped 2023-02-14 13:36:33 -0500
  • Jonathan Smelts
    rsvped 2023-02-14 12:10:22 -0500
  • Jerald Drain
    rsvped 2023-02-14 12:07:56 -0500
  • Evelyn Evans
    rsvped 2023-02-14 12:07:03 -0500
  • Kellie Miller
    rsvped 2023-02-14 12:06:11 -0500
  • Ronald Hall
    rsvped 2023-02-14 12:03:22 -0500
  • Zakary Skinner
    rsvped 2023-02-14 11:59:14 -0500
  • Samuel Genovese
    rsvped 2023-02-14 11:58:14 -0500
  • Cara Guth
    rsvped 2023-02-14 10:14:39 -0500
  • Seth Oser
    rsvped 2023-02-14 10:07:19 -0500
  • Embola Ekille
    rsvped 2023-02-14 10:03:48 -0500
  • Andrew Evans
    rsvped 2023-02-11 16:04:18 -0500
  • Winnie Graham
    rsvped 2023-02-11 15:51:27 -0500
  • Shawn Trim II
    rsvped 2023-02-11 15:20:54 -0500
  • Justin Koch
    rsvped 2023-02-11 15:13:46 -0500
  • Erick Stephens
    rsvped 2023-02-11 14:29:43 -0500
  • Bethany Bogardus
    rsvped 2023-02-11 14:15:53 -0500
  • Anaar Desai-Stephens
    rsvped 2023-02-11 12:08:47 -0500
  • Matt Shackelford
    rsvped 2023-02-11 11:59:10 -0500
  • Sydney Collins
    rsvped 2023-02-11 11:56:21 -0500
  • Christopher Coleman
    rsvped 2023-02-11 11:38:56 -0500

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