Our friends over at the Conservative Energy Network (CEN) have launched UtilityPlaybook.com to track the ways monopoly utilities use their influence and power to block competition and maintain outdated fossil fuel and nuclear power plants. The new website also includes some of the great work being done at the nonprofit Energy and Policy Institute to track corruption and dirty tricks by incumbent utilities – moves that are slowing the transition to a clean energy future while charging ratepayers full freight for dirty energy.
Research by CEN consistently shows that less than 20 percent of voters across the country, regardless of political affiliation, like their monopoly utility and want a more competitive electricity market that gives them the choice to pick clean energy.
“New technologies have completely changed how we generate and consume electricity,” said Mark Pischea, president and CEO of CEN. “The outdated monopoly utility structure is at best a hindrance and at worst an invitation to abuse power. Either way, it’s the ratepayers who pay the price.”
CEN is a coalition of 21 state-based conservative clean energy organizations.