by Greg Lebens-Higgins for ROCDSA’s RED STAR

Rochester for Energy Democracy demands the funding of a study to determine the feasibility of a public utility as the path out of the RG&E crisis. We cannot brush this option away on the basis of speculation. Only through bold action will we create a long-term solution to expensive and unreliable billing, poor customer service, and an absence of democratic control. We must not shrink from this responsibility.

In the Rochester Beacon, Kent Gardner has provided his own “exploration” of a public utility (he uses the term “community utility”). Gardner attempts to size up a public utility against Rochester for Energy Democracy’s stated goals: affordability, accountable and democratic governance, local economic benefit, green energy, and a just transition for energy workers. His guesses provide few answers, and only underscore the necessity of funding the proposed study.

[this is only a snippet of the editorial that was originally published on Nov. 2, 2023 at Red Star – a blog from Rochester Democratic Socialists of America. Read the rest at RED STAR.]