ITS OUR RIGHT TO CHOOSE OUR OWN CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE. FIGHT PNMS PLAN TO FORCE COAL AND NUCLEAR ON US. CONTACT THE SANTA FE CITY COUNCILORS AND MAYOR TODAY On Wednesday we learned that PNM is trying to undermine Santa Fe’s efforts to determine its own energy future by devising a proposal to work with a small team of attorneys and Councilor Bushee to lock in a coal and nuclear energy plan for Santa Fe and signing a long-term contract (a franchise agreement) with the City for Santa Fe’s electricity generation. Please call or email Councilor Bushee and ask her to withdraw her resolution santafenm.gov/elected_officials Remind her that the city is currently opposing PNMs coal & nuclear replacement power plan and that signing a franchise agreement would obligate us to pay for the stranded assets and decomissioning costs of PNM’s coal and nuclear plants that we want nothing to do with. Mention that PNM is proposing FIXED rates for customers in their recent request for a 14% rate hike - which would eliminate the benefits to customers when we conserve electricity in our homes or install solar. Remind her that she works for us, not PNM. Please call or email the other Councilors and Mayor and let them know you strongly support the City’s refusal to sign a long-term contract with PNM, that we want community-determined energy choices and you support the City establishing its municipal utility authority so it can implement energy efficiency and help make solar accessible to all. PNM’s been hard at work trying to pressure our elected officials after the Mayor announced Santa Fe’s intention to pursue energy choice and a community determined energy path toward renewable energy transition at last month’s Climate Summit. With the introduction of a resolution and Ordinance to move forward on the community’s public power initiative, PNM has been pulling out all the stops – including retracting their offer to work with the City to install electric-charge stations. The City of Santa Fe has not had a franchise agreement with PNM for more than 15 years! Recognizing PNM’s overdependence on dirty energy sources and refusal to move toward clean and affordable energy alternatives, the City has strategically chosen NOT to renew their franchise agreement with PNM because it would wed us to PNMs poor energy decisions and stick us with the cost of their risky energy investments, let alone eliminate our bargaining power and any opportunity to pursue municipalization now or in the future. The reason PNM is again asking for a rate increase is due to heavy coal and nuclear investments (80% of PNMs current energy mix) - behemoth polluting plants that require a constant infusion of capital to fix broken parts at aging facilities and for equipment for environmental upgrades. THE TIMING IS CRITICAL, WHY? The Bushee-PNM resolution is designed to put an end to Santa Fe’s pursuit of energy independence and renewables. It comes at a time when Santa Fe is making real progress toward Public Power and the transition to renewable energy and is challenging PNM’s coal and nuclear replacement power plan. Meanwhile, PNM is deepening their investments in coal and nuclear and staunchly defending their dirty and expensive energy decisions. They are looking to secure a franchise agreement with communities like Santa Fe so no matter how bad the fallout of their energy decisions, they will have the rate-base to absorb the costs. Thank you to all of you who answered our emergency call to attend the Council meeting Wednesday and speak out against this proposal. This is the time for us to stand together to demand true energy transformation, local control and decision-making, and community determined energy solutions. Please check our new web site, which will be launched next week, for updates on how you can deepen your involvement.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 17:05:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015