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.

  

 

4,562 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?

  • theodore joslin
    signed 2025-07-10 23:50:59 -0400
  • Tony Ambrose
    signed 2025-07-10 23:41:37 -0400
  • Olivia Green
    signed 2025-07-10 10:58:32 -0400
  • Matt Rose
    signed 2025-07-10 07:16:28 -0400
  • Erik Stoneham
    signed 2025-07-10 07:12:30 -0400
  • Ian Benz
    signed 2025-07-10 00:18:52 -0400
    It just keeps getting worse while the mayor and his allies on council let them get away with it.
  • Loc C
    signed 2025-07-09 18:00:39 -0400
  • Grace Frenzel
    signed 2025-07-09 15:28:17 -0400
  • Caroline Crawford
    signed 2025-07-09 15:23:22 -0400
  • Katherine Foster
    signed 2025-07-09 11:56:00 -0400
  • Jennifer Regan
    signed 2025-07-09 11:48:28 -0400
  • Jamie Rothfuss
    signed 2025-07-09 11:40:24 -0400
  • Shawna Kildea
    signed 2025-07-09 11:31:41 -0400
  • Mikaela Shay
    signed 2025-07-09 11:16:37 -0400
  • Cari Petrichick
    signed 2025-07-08 22:15:44 -0400
  • Catherine Basch
    signed 2025-07-08 21:29:08 -0400
    They cut my power off with 2 dependents residing in the home which is illegal. I just paid them 100$ and they still shut me off.
  • Marina Pacheco-Walker
    signed 2025-07-08 20:11:09 -0400
    RGE has the audacity to raise rates on a population already drowning in utilities debt. Its time for them to go!!
  • Matt Rainbow
    signed 2025-07-08 17:46:03 -0400
  • Sarah Petrichick
    signed 2025-07-08 16:04:04 -0400
  • Kimber Aspenleiter
    signed 2025-07-08 15:05:06 -0400
  • Briyanna Pitts
    signed 2025-07-08 12:15:28 -0400
  • Stephen Roessner
    signed 2025-07-07 22:57:07 -0400
  • Brian McGahan
    signed 2025-07-07 21:56:21 -0400
  • Jenna Weintraub
    signed 2025-07-06 19:20:24 -0400
  • Jason Olshefsky
    signed 2025-07-06 16:11:38 -0400
  • Olivia Landers
    signed 2025-07-06 15:18:02 -0400
  • Joe Calabrese
    signed 2025-07-06 07:14:46 -0400
  • emily ormond
    signed 2025-07-05 20:16:46 -0400
  • Caswell Smith
    signed 2025-07-05 19:57:35 -0400
  • Kathryn Sharkey
    signed 2025-07-05 17:05:51 -0400
    RG&E is so corrupt.

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