Dear John,

One of our priority bills, The Oregon Energy Affordability Act, has passed the House and is heading to its final vote in the Senate! HB 2475A centers environmental justice and helps provide much-needed relief to those struggling to pay higher energy bills. Please email your state senator today and ask them to vote YES on HB 2475A.

The climate crisis can only be tackled with equity at the center and climate justice as the goal. Higher pollution, climate impacts, other environmental injustice, and higher energy burden all fall disproportionately on low-income Oregonians and Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). The Oregon Energy Affordability Act is a critical piece to ensure that as we shift to more renewable sources we also ensure energy affordability for all.

The pandemic has led to more Oregonians struggling to make ends meet while also spending more time at home. People are spending more on heating and electricity, leaving many families with impossible choices between keeping the lights on and keeping food on the table or paying for needed medical procedures. 

That’s why the Oregon Energy Affordability Act is so important to pass right now. It will establish a Low-Income Utility Rate Class to decrease utility costs for low-income and other under-served customers. It will also ensure environmental justice communities, which are the most impacted by a higher energy burden, are represented throughout the critical energy decision-making process.

Years of organizing and advocacy led by Verde and other environmental justice organizations involved in the Oregon Clean Energy Opportunity campaign have gotten the bill to this point – on the verge of the Oregon Senate voting on it! 

Now, we need your help to get it passed by the Oregon Senate and then on to Governor Kate Brown’s desk to sign it into law. The Oregon Energy Affordability Act, which is one of three bills in the Oregon Clean Energy Opportunity package, will make a real difference in people’s lives right away and put us on a path to climate justice.

Please send a message to your state senator asking them to vote yes on HB 2475A – a win for people, the environment, and the future for all of us. 

Sincerely,
Julia DeGraw
Coalition Director, OLCV