Add your name for clean, affordable energy

Join an "armchair seminar" to get informed on the topics in the letter and to learn more about having conversations with your co-op. Click here for details.

Mark your calendar:

• Thursday, September 6
• 7:00 p.m. eastern

To participate:

1. On your phone, dial-in 1-866-740-1260 and enter access code 8931147#. 
2. On your computer, go to www.readytalk.com and find the box that says "Participant: Join a Conference" on the left.  Enter access code 8931147.

Contact [email protected] or 606-276-9933 for more information.

Full text of the sign-on letter:

 Dear [co-op CEO and Board Chair],

We are writing to you as rural electric cooperative members and members of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth (KFTC), a 31-year-old grassroots social justice organization with 7,500 members across the state. We are Kentuckians who care about our communities and are working together to create a positive future for our state. Our vision includes good, local jobs that don’t do damage to our air, land, or water; a strong democracy where the voices of regular Kentuckians are heard and respected; a better quality of life for all Kentuckians, including clean, affordable power; and much more.

We are proud to be cooperative members, as we believe co-ops can strengthen our democracy and our economy. Many cooperative principles—including democratic control, education, and concern for community—match our own values of social justice.

We have been encouraged by the steps Kentucky’s rural electric cooperatives have begun taking toward energy efficiency and renewable energy. Each co-op in the East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) service area offers programs to help members save energy. Co-ops are participating in pilot programs, from the How$martKY on-bill financing program to pre-pay programs, Simple$aver, and Smart Homes. Co-ops have also begun experimenting with new rate structures to help members save energy.

While renewable energy has lagged behind, we acknowledge that the co-ops have received energy from local hydro-electric dams and that they provide the EnviroWatts program, which helps support energy generated by burning land-fill gas—small steps in the right direction.

Also, we’ve been encouraged to see our co-op participate in the Demand-side Management / Renewable Energy Collaborative with the other co-ops, EKPC and public interest groups, including KFTC.

While acknowledging this progress, we are writing to you today to encourage our co-op to take bolder steps toward energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Today, right now, we have our best opportunity in decades to reinvigorate our cooperative and take the lead, not just on energy but on the future of our Commonwealth’s economic, social and physical health. By investing boldly in energy efficiency, new ways to help members and the co-op afford to save energy, and significant generation of clean, renewable energy, we can:

• create much-needed, good, local jobs right here in our communities
• protect those who are most vulnerable to rising rates and economic fluctuations
• protect the health of our families, our communities and our environment
• ensure the longevity of these important cooperatives and
• jump start a transition to a healthier economy.

Our co-op has opportunities right now to move toward increasing energy efficiency and clean, renewable energy. We encourage you to take action.

Set strong goals for saving energy and generating clean, renewable energy

We ask that our co-op, individually and with other EKPC co-ops, set ambitious goals for increasing total megawatts (MWs) generated from renewable energy and MWs saved through demand-side management and energy efficiency.

Energy efficiency and renewable energy offer multiple benefits, including financial protection for both the co-op and its most vulnerable members. As fuel costs and energy rates rise, a more diverse energy portfolio offers a buffer, especially when the fuel source is as free and clean as the sun and wind – or as easy as using less electricity.

We propose a series of steps our co-op can take to set goals and seize the potential of renewable energy and energy efficiency:

• Set its own numeric goals for the annual percentage of MWs it plans to save and the percentage of MWs it would like to purchase of clean, renewable energy
• Work with the Demand-side Management / Renewable Energy Collaborative to recommend a strong set of numeric goals for EKPC
• Support the Clean Energy Opportunity Act, which has been introduced in the General Assembly by the Kentucky Sustainable Energy Alliance and calls for percentages of energy savings and renewable generation to be met over the next 10 years.

Choose clean, renewable sources for new generation

We ask that our co-op work through its role on the EKPC Board of Directors to make the right decisions for meeting the 300MW of generation to replace power from the Dale and Cooper coal-burning generating stations—recently announced in a Request for Proposals (RFP). We ask that you consider our future health—both locally and globally—and choose proposals for clean, renewable sources over riskier fossil fuel sources.

Support the Rural Utility Service’s new proposed rule on loans for energy efficiency

We ask that our co-op make a public comment in support of the Rural Utility Service’s currently proposed rule that would make low-interest loans available to co-ops for energy efficiency programs. This money can be used for on-bill financing programs like How$martKY that help co-op members—especially low-income members—overcome the upfront costs of energy upgrades and save energy and money in the long term. Such programs also create a demand for local jobs. Submitting a public comment to RUS by September 24 is a concrete step the co-ops can take to support such important, innovative programs.

We thank you for the opportunity to communicate with you and share our vision and our requests. We look forward to continuing to work together as cooperative members and members of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth.

In cooperation,

[Signed], [Electric Utility], [City, KY]