Got my Pepco bill today and WOAH DOGGY

NEWS: New law and policy program, Overcharged report, public power advancing! My name is Sylvia Chi, and I’m joining Public Grids as Senior Counsel. I’m excited to launch our new law and policy program this year to support the public power movement nationwide!

Some good news from our corner of the movement! We are so thrilled that @sylviachi.bsky.social has joined us to launch our new law and policy program, plus public power support is growing across the country in New York, Tucson, Ann Arbor, Santa Fe, and Willmar, Minnesota.

Power Bills Are Bankrupting DC Residents—but There's a Path to Affordability for All | Common Dreams Public ownership of power has worked for decades in thousands of towns and cities and is being actively pursued in the District and other communities across the country.

Activists in Washington, D.C. with @wepowerdc.bsky.social are standing up to demand public power. For affordability, for climate, and for democracy. We can't afford to wait: we need public power now.

So do we 💪

We need more public power, everywhere!

If you're in San Francisco and wondering how to get more informed about the justifications PG&E and every other corporate utility use to keep their profits flowing while keeping us in the dark, check this out.

The citywide outage is San Francisco is going to be the straw that broke PG&E's stranglehold on California politics. Here's my state Senator calling for public ownership- not just for San Francisco but all of PG&E statewide. The future is public and that's what @publicgrids.org is for.

We are looking forward to heading to the one and only Portland, OR (not war torn) for this conversation in just a few weeks with @councilorgreen.bsky.social @sarahana.bsky.social and @uniteoregon.bsky.social. RSVP and join us for a conversation of hope, solidarity and inspiration!

Scroll for few good reasons why you should join us this Friday for 'Portland's Future: It's in Our Hands' 👇

events.humanitix.com/rumble-publi...

The power to make a difference is in your hands With just a few minutes, using this organizing guide, you can join others and organize locally to protect your neighbors. The guide contains information about the status of protections against shutoff...

In this issue we've packed three different ways that you can do something to get involved in the public power movement right now!

Portland's Future: It's in Our Hands An evening of music and ideas for building a Portland that provides and cares for everyone with new public investment in public goods.

If you're anywhere near Portland, Oregon, come join us for a night of song, stories, and solidarity on October 10!

We're cohosting this free event with Rumble on the River, @mitchgreen.bsky.social, @sarahana.bsky.social, and folks with @uniteoregon.bsky.social and @houseourneighbors.bsky.social!

NEWS: New campaigns director, national summit, global labor connections! My name is Lucy Hochschartner, and I’m the new Campaigns Director at Public Grids! I’m bringing everything I learned on the Pine Tree Power campaign in Maine to build our program to support local camp...

Our latest update! We are on the move, growing the team at Public Grids, getting ready for our next national summit, and building international relationships in the labor movement. Please share & subscribe to join our movement for public power and electricity for all!

Power Shift: Winter Park's Electric Transformation YouTube video by City of Winter Park

Shoutout to the people and the City of Winter Park, Florida, who are celebrating 20 years of Public Power!

Check out this video they made to celebrate this huge anniversary of taking back control of their grid in a democratic process!

The Summer of Shutoffs By isaac sevier and Winston Yau

The summer of shutoffs is here. The left’s answer must advance climate, affordability, and managed decline together.

"Public power can begin to build us out of this deep contradiction between the well-being of Americans and the deregulated system."

@sevier.io with Winston Yau @cplusc.bsky.social:

Trump imposes sweeping 25% steel and aluminum tariffs. Canada and Europe swiftly retaliate | CNN Business President Donald Trump imposed sweeping 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imported into the United States Wednesday, a policy aimed at leveling the playing field for US manufacturing but a move th...

The Canadian tariffs on electricity exports to the U.S. are part of the broader tariff fight and are paused for now.

"Trump backed off his threat to double the steel and aluminum tariff rates for Canada after Ontario Premier Doug Ford agreed to pause surcharges on electricity for US customers."

The future is public, and it is unionized.

Line graph. X axis time from 1940 to today. Y axis % approve of labor unions. Line fluctuates between 50% and 80% approve over the entire time series, currently at 70%.

And people in the US believe in the power of labor unions to improve our lives, even though millions of Americans don't live in households with a union member.

The future only gets better if we collectively stand up against the oligarchs and fight together.

news.gallup.com/poll/12751/l...

Right here at home, workers are leading the way.

"We urge elected leaders of both parties to move this critical legislation forward so that all workers have the chance to stand together and build better lives for themselves and their families,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler.

PSI - We are the workers who make society happen. YouTube video by PSIglobalunion

"We're the utility workers keeping your lights on and the water flowing."

Today as more announcements roll out from the U.S. federal government about union-busting and privatization, know that there is a global movement for public ownership from workers worldwide. @psiglobalunion.bsky.social

After this Ford transitions into his closing remarks and into Q&A. I'm writing this on a slight delay because i had to relisten to understand what his comments meant. The additional 25% tariffs from Ontario are _conditional_ and do not go into effect without a U.S. action first that triggers them.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford warns U.S. "Today i'm writing to every Senator, every Congress man and woman, and the governors from NY, MI, and MN telling them tariffs persist" and measures be escalated if there are further U.S. tariffs. This includes an additional 25% tariff & shutting off electricity.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announces proactive plans:

"If the Trump Admin follows through on any more tariffs, we will immediately apply a 25% surcharge on the electricity we export. We will not hesitate to shutoff their power as well. I am encouraging my fellow Premiers to follow suit."

"We also need to be ready to dig in for a long fight... That includes surcharges or outright restrictions on the critical minerals and electricity we supply to the U.S."

U.S. based businesses will be barred from bidding on any provincial government contracts, and Ford encourages city governments to do the same.

Also: "We're ripping up Ontario's contract with Starlink," noting Ontario won't support people who launch these sweeping economic attacks.

"To support the federal government's efforts, Ontario will also launch its first round of tariffs." American brands will be taken off shelves & wholesale catalogs from LCBO, a major importer of U.S. wine, beer, and spirits.

Ford is on now with a somber opening, expressing sympathy for the millions of Americans being hurt by the U.S. government's tariffs, especially factory workers in the rust belt.

"Now we have no choice. We have to respond. Earlier this morning PM Trudeau and his team announced retaliatory tariffs."

Below are maps of New England showing real-time electricity prices. For the same demand in MW, prices went from ~$45 to above $100 across the entire region.

Folks are going to hungry to pay their bills this month. We need an immediate ban on utility shutoffs in every state.

The Secret Society Raising Your Electricity Bills A breakthrough report details how utility companies use bogus models to earn excess profits.

Nationalize the utilities.

ICYMI.

"Now it’s clear that the political instability is here at home, and our energy profiteers are only going to add to the problem... We will need policy that ensures our energy security without exacerbating these challenges by adding to climate change." @lizafeatherstone.bsky.social