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.

  

 

4,424 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?

  • David Warth
    signed 2025-05-22 12:18:00 -0400
  • Nyiaesha Colon
    signed 2025-05-22 12:17:56 -0400
  • Shannon Attridge
    signed 2025-05-22 12:17:25 -0400
  • Bethany Fjeldheim
    signed 2025-05-22 12:16:52 -0400
  • Jaiya Astacio
    signed 2025-05-22 12:16:52 -0400
  • Kim Brown
    signed 2025-05-22 12:16:19 -0400
  • Betty Hale
    signed 2025-05-22 12:16:16 -0400
  • Kevin OKeefe
    signed 2025-05-22 12:16:16 -0400
  • Hanna Sauvain
    signed 2025-05-22 12:15:33 -0400
  • Talisha Boose
    signed 2025-05-22 12:15:15 -0400
  • Noreen Flanagan
    signed 2025-05-22 11:28:33 -0400
  • Lisa Rickman Rickman
    signed 2025-05-22 10:41:12 -0400
  • Zachary Harnish
    signed 2025-05-21 23:34:40 -0400
  • Josiah Coon
    signed 2025-05-20 07:14:28 -0400
    RGE is a predatory business that extracts money from American citizens. Money that could be used to be put back into our own community and economy. I don’t want to fill the pockets of foreign nationals I want to support my community. it’s time to end
  • Jehan Hassan
    signed 2025-05-20 01:58:10 -0400
  • Alessio Giacobone
    signed 2025-05-19 21:36:19 -0400
  • Michael Willoughby
    signed 2025-05-19 19:42:38 -0400
  • Arlie Guy Harwood III
    signed 2025-05-19 09:04:05 -0400
  • Ben Kelly
    signed 2025-05-16 23:49:57 -0400
  • Ariel Lubman
    signed 2025-05-16 18:03:15 -0400
  • Liv Sun
    signed 2025-05-16 15:31:18 -0400
    F**k RGE
  • Nate Trieste
    signed 2025-05-16 15:31:07 -0400
  • Francis Harte
    signed 2025-05-16 14:58:02 -0400
  • Jason Mayotte
    signed 2025-05-16 13:12:06 -0400
  • Madeleine Baum
    signed 2025-05-16 12:50:51 -0400
  • Rachel Sabatello
    signed 2025-05-16 09:11:51 -0400
  • Makenzie Griffith
    signed 2025-05-15 20:10:58 -0400
  • Michael Morris
    signed 2025-05-15 12:29:42 -0400
  • Mike Glavich
    signed 2025-05-14 14:30:23 -0400
    RG&E is OUT OF CONTROL. They couldn’t care less about our community, and it’s population. They are running a ‘legal’ monopoly.
  • Brad Berry
    signed 2025-05-13 11:58:35 -0400

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