The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has been binging on fossil fuel approvals again. In the last few months they’ve voted on party line to make ratepayers pay more money to subsidize fossil fuels, tried to influence the outcome of court decision in favor of fossil fuels before the trial, and called the fight to stop tolling orders a “losing the PR battle badly”.
At the same time, a growing number of elected officials and candidates are seriously considering our proposal to turn FERC into the Federal Renewable Energy Commission (FREC) as part of a Green New Deal. Leading presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have signed on, and Congress held a hearing last week on potential reforms to the Natural Gas Act.
FERC’s next meeting is February 20th, and our friends at Beyond Extreme Energy and many other groups will be making our presence felt. Sign on to this statement to support them, and consider their invitation to join us in DC as well!
What’s FERC been up to that’s so bad?
- In the last year, they have voted to approve 11 liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects and export natural gas, as proudly reported on the FERC website.
- In December, FERC voted on party lines that customers in the PJM electrical grid, serves 13 states and DC. have to pay more for wind and solar power in order to subsidize fossil fuels.
- Then in January, they made an unusual and contentious decision yesterday, to say that a pipeline company can seize state-owned land in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It was unusual, because it contradicts a ruling last fall by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and precedes a planned appeal to the US Supreme Court. Put more simply it looks like FERC is trying to overrule the judicial branch in favor of fossil fuels, which is even more concerning since the Supreme Court is about to hear a case on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
- The odds are high that FERC will support Trump’s recently-announced proposal to weaken the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which is currently one of the only tools we have to force environmental review of pipelines.
That is why 198 methods, BXE and 220 other organizations are campaigning for FERC to be replaced by FREC, a new Federal Renewable Energy Commission. As part of a Green New Deal, FREC would be charged with ending all fossil fuel use and regulating utility markets as they transition to 100% clean and renewable power over the next few years.
We urge you to consider taking part with us in our nonviolent action on February 20th. Click here to learn more and sign up to join us in DC.
As a first step, please sign our petition to turn FERC Into FREC. We’ll deliver all the signatures to leaders in Congress and on the campaign trail.
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It’s abundantly clear that climate change is a serious crisis for all life on earth. We urgently must implement ANY AND ALL MEASURES available to us to slow the changes that we already see happening around us. Please replace William Pendley with an energy leader who will make wise decisions for the good of us all.
President Trump, doesn’t care about the environment, his tactics are to earn money for his private use.
We’ve gotta defeat him in the coming election., otherwise our goose is over cooked.
Registered voter, since eligible long ago. I vote in the Primary’s as well.