On the eve of the global Climate Strike, join Alliance for a Green Economy, member of the Renewable Heat Now* coalition, along with Senator Julia Salazar and residents on the front lines of fracking infrastructure from across New York, for a press conference followed by a People’s Public Service Commission (PSC) Meeting and the launch of #ClimateStrikeUtilities.

Note the change from the previous email; September 19 press conference time is now 11:30am, not 1:30pm. Location remains the same: LOB Room 130.

What: New Yorkers show up at the Public Service Commission meeting under the banner “Climate Strike Utilities: Stop Digging - Fund the Solutions.” The meeting will be followed by a press conference to highlight how the Public Service Commission’s decisions directly impact the climate and the wellbeing of the people of New York. 

Speakers will include:
State Senator Julia Salazar 
Jessica Azulay, Executive Director of Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE)
John Ciovacco, Board Member of the New York Geothermal Energy Organization (NY-GEO)
Johanna Fallert, Stop Cricket Valley NY/CT and Mothers Out Front
Adam Flint, Steering Committee member of the New York Energy Democracy Alliance
Laura Shindell, New York Organizer for Food and Water Watch
Suzy Winkler, an individual intervenor in the NYSEG rate case 
Lee Ziesche, Community Engagement Coordinator at Sane Energy Project

Where/When: The Public Service Commission Meeting will be held Thursday, September 19, at 10:30am in Agency Building 3, 19th Floor Boardroom, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY. We will gather in the boardroom starting at 9:30am.

The press conference will follow at 11:30am in the LCA Pressroom, Legislative Office Building (LOB) Room 130, Albany, NY. We will have refreshments available.

Please share the updated event information, especially with your Capital Region networks.

We encourage everyone to attend a Climate Strike in their area starting Friday, September 20. Members of the Renewable Heat Now campaign will attend events across the state. The Climate Strike March and Rally in Albany will converge with the Albany Youth Climate Strike and will stop at Agency Building 3 to again draw attention to the Public Service Commission and their power to regulate utilities and control of the purse strings for most of the energy investments in New York. We will invite the public to keep a close watch on how the PSC acts (or does not act) to end corporate utility investments in fossil fuel infrastructure and to redirect rate-payer money immediately into investments in energy efficiency, renewable electricity, and renewable heating.

And we are very pleased to report that our Call Cuomo efforts last week resulted in 192 calls to the Governor about this issue. Thank you to everyone who took the time to call!

We hope to stand with you in the PSC boardroom and in the streets at a Climate Strike near you!

Andra Leimanis
Communications & Outreach Director
Alliance for a Green Economy

*Renewable Heat Now is a campaign organized by Alliance for a Green Economy, New Yorkers for Clean Power, NY-GEO, HeatSmart Tompkins, Fossil Free Tompkins, Sane Energy Project, Frack Action, Pace Energy and Climate Center, Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition, Earthjustice, and Mothers Out Front.