Edward Smith, Press Secretary, edward.smith@sierraclub.org
Dorothy Barnett, Climate & Energy Project Executive Director, barnett@climateandenergy.org
Christina Ostmeyer, Kansas Appleseed Communications Director, costmeyer@kansasappleseed.org
Topeka, KS – A proposed schedule was submitted to the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) earlier this month for Commissioners to consider either a broadly supported energy efficiency programs plan or a vastly weaker, alternate plan negotiated solely between KCC Staff and Evergy. Testimony to oppose the alternate program is to be submitted by Friday, December 2, 2022.
The original energy efficiency programs plan was agreed to by Evergy, KCC Staff, Climate + Energy Project, Citizens’ Utility Ratepayer Board, Kansas Appleseed, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Sierra Club in July of this year. This agreement includes assistance for low-income ratepayers and tenants in multi-family dwellings to reduce their bills and energy consumption by helping them access more efficient appliances, HVAC systems, and weatherization for their homes. KCC Staff is attempting to derail the widely supported agreement by insisting on drastic reductions in utility energy efficiency investment in a narrowly negotiated plan that’s also before the Commission. More details on the widely supported plan and its benefits can be found here.
“We worked with stakeholders in one of the most historically red-lined zip-codes in Evergy's footprint to create and champion the People's Energy Plan, including comprehensive energy efficiency programs addressing the most energy-burdened communities first,” said Dorothy Barnett, Executive Director of the Climate + Energy Project. “The settlement we support will provide programs for lower-income Kansans that will reduce energy bills and make homes safer.”
Ninety-five percent of all Kansans who commented on the energy efficiency plan this summer supported robust energy efficiency programs. The original slate of nine energy efficiency programs would be available to nearly one million Kansans, and help Kansas improve its meager history of efficiency investments. While the median state spent roughly $15 per person on energy investments in 2019, Kansas spent just $0.11 per person. If Kansas saved the same percentage of retail sales as the median state, its energy efficiency programs would be nearly 1,000 times as effective.
“If the KCC decides to adopt the robust set of programs agreed to in August, it could accelerate the retirement of the polluting Jeffrey coal plant, reduce electric bills for all, and curtail energy burden for low-income households,” said Ty Gorman, Kansas Campaign Representative for Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. “By adopting the original efficiency plan, the KCC would also keep Kansas from becoming the worst state in the nation at advancing energy efficiency.”
The plan KCC Staff prefers reduces the programmatic budget by at least 85 percent and contains almost no actual energy efficiency programs. Unlike the initial agreement, the KCC Staff agreement contains no mechanisms for collaboration and development of programs while federal grant dollars flood into Kansas in 2023 for clean energy from the Inflation Reduction Act.
“The alternative settlement proposed by the KCC Staff harms low-income customers by reducing the level of energy efficiency programs available to them, virtually eliminating the energy affordability benefits of the original settlement,” said Teresa Woody, Litigation Director of the Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice. “The alternative settlement will not make energy more affordable to low-income customers.”
Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice is a statewide organization that believes Kansans, working together, can build a state full of thriving, inclusive, and just communities. Kansas Appleseed conducts policy research and analysis and works with communities and partners to understand the root causes of problems and advocate for comprehensive solutions. For more information, visit www.kansasappleseed.org.
The Climate + Energy Project ("CEP") is a Kansas-based nonpartisan 501(c)3 nonprofit driving practical solutions for an equitable transition to a clean energy future. CEP builds resilience in Kansas through equitable clean energy solutions and climate action. For more information, visit www.climateandenergy.org
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.