350 Chicago, as a general member of the 350 Network Council, will be participating in a Utility Accountability Campaign being conducted across the country by the (15) 350 chapter members of the Network Council. We will also be working with 350US, the national headquarters, on this Utility Accountability Campaign. 350 US has decided to make Utility reform one of its top priorities in the United States.

I am reaching out to ask for volunteers to join a meeting to discuss holding an action in mid-August surrounding Utility Accountability issues, specifically lobbying reform and holding Utilities accountable for unfair rate increases and perhaps, for a longer term project, having Investor Owned Utilities (IOU's) become a public good rather than a private monopoly business.

.

I have scheduled the first meeting for Wednesday, May 29th at 7:00 pm via Zoom. . At the end of the meeting, we can talk about future meetings and create a regular time and day.

Right now, IOU's are blocking progress toward the necessary transition to a clean energy economy. In partnership with fossil fuel companies, these IOU's are inhibiting clean energy technologies from being built, placed on the grid while trying to roll back programs like residential rooftop solar and consumers being paid for excess power once it is sent back into the grid. Moreover, the IOU's are also planning to build more dirty plants for burning methane gas, a major contributor to the climate crisis.

We must send a message to the Investor Owned Utilities and their suppliers in the fossil fuel industry. We won't stand for their obstruction! We must transition in a faster manner than the current trajectory.

Please consider joining this Utility Accountability Campaign. I hope to see you there.