I want to replace RG&E with a local, community controlled public utility!

I want to replace RG&E with a local, community controlled public utility!

Did you know that we can vote out the foreign-owned corporation that owns and controls RG&E? RG&E is owned by a foreign multinational corporation called Iberdrola that extracts over $120 million in profits from our region every year. Rochester for Energy Democracy (RED) is Metro Justice’s campaign to replace foreign-owned RG&E in Rochester or Monroe County into a not for profit, locally controlled public utility.

RG&E's track record speaks volumes—surprise billing, exorbitant rates and shut offs, terrible customer service, and rising rates have plagued our community for far too long. In addition to being unresponsive to the needs of city residents, RG&E has all but ignored the impending climate crisis, continued to invest in fossil fuels, and lobbied against green energy policies. It's time for change.

  

 

3,064 signatures

By signing this petition, I support the call to replace RG&E with a locally owned and community controlled public utility that meets the needs of our communities instead of serving the greed of distant investors and CEOs. I want a public utility based on the principles of energy democracy:

  • Affordable Rates,
  • Local investment of ratepayer dollars to prioritize customer service and a reliable grid, 
  • A fast and equitable transition to zero greenhouse gas emissions, 
  • More good paying union jobs and a just transition for fossil fuel energy workers, 
  • Public ownership of the utility, where it is run by value-aligned general management and its current employees, governed by an elected Board of Directors, and has a real say for ratepayers. 

In particular, I call on elected leaders to take the first step and study whether and how a public utility could meet these goals.

Will you sign?

  • Charlotte Tillman
    signed 2025-07-15 10:29:37 -0400
  • Allison
    signed 2025-07-14 19:16:47 -0400
  • Arthur Carpenter
    signed 2025-07-14 15:14:41 -0400
  • Steffan WeberHorst
    signed 2025-07-14 13:27:10 -0400
    Family and friends have had to get generators because of the amount of times their power went out. If you need a backup generator for half the year, then there is no point in the electricity company. Get RG&E out of here and replace them with a local nonprofit that actually FUNCTIONS.
  • Laura Kendall
    signed 2025-07-14 13:24:53 -0400
  • Ronald Torrelli
    signed 2025-07-14 13:09:04 -0400
  • Stephanie Hare
    signed 2025-07-14 11:53:39 -0400
  • Channing Norton
    signed 2025-07-13 15:06:31 -0400
  • Christopher Reynolds
    signed via 2025-07-12 23:45:42 -0400
  • Blake Lombardo
    signed 2025-07-12 12:19:44 -0400
  • Nicholas Marino
    signed 2025-07-11 23:19:46 -0400
  • Jeri Coleman
    signed 2025-07-11 20:57:37 -0400
  • Keelin Quirk
    signed 2025-07-11 18:02:09 -0400
  • Alec Alaggio
    signed 2025-07-11 16:53:15 -0400
    It’s a monopoly! Hasn’t anybody heard of the Sherman Antitrust Act?
  • Colton Hensley
    signed 2025-07-11 16:45:29 -0400
  • Kara Tierney
    signed 2025-07-11 14:38:33 -0400
  • Steven Cacner
    signed 2025-07-11 14:35:39 -0400
    Rochester needs a more locally owned utility company that actually provides customer service and doesn’t first blame their own customers for their own technology issues!
  • Amanda Carson
    signed 2025-07-11 12:57:40 -0400
    No longer a Monroe County resident but lived in Rochester for 27 years.
  • Nathan Saint Ours
    signed 2025-07-11 12:42:22 -0400
  • Willy Yonkers
    signed 2025-07-11 12:35:45 -0400
  • Kimberly Slaughter
    signed 2025-07-11 12:31:05 -0400
  • Donald Brown
    signed 2025-07-11 12:28:42 -0400
  • Allen Maracle
    signed 2025-07-11 12:21:57 -0400
  • Nichole Sears
    signed 2025-07-11 12:21:47 -0400
  • Griffen Fox
    signed 2025-07-11 12:16:37 -0400
  • Kathryn Christensen
    signed 2025-07-11 12:13:54 -0400
  • Laura Kolb
    signed 2025-07-11 11:54:46 -0400
  • Timothy Rixner
    signed 2025-07-11 11:32:49 -0400
    Having dealt with RG&E on several occasions the whole system is predatory and they offer little to no customer service. Had a meter issue that took me reporting them to the state for them to actually resolve and fix after months of back and forth. Also the rate hikes are atrocious.
  • Patrick Glazer
    signed 2025-07-11 11:16:14 -0400
  • Misty Z
    signed 2025-07-11 10:46:47 -0400

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