A Cheaper and Greener Future for Memphis
It’s time to leave TVA for cleaner and cheaper energy
MEMPHIS CAN SAVE MILLIONS BY LEAVING TVA
Memphis can save hundreds of millions of dollars in electricity costs every year by leaving the Tennessee Valley Authority for a cheaper, greener sources of power. Multiple experts have issued reports confirming this, but the city must give TVA five years’ notice to end their contract and get a better deal.
Many Memphis Light, Gas, and Water customers already face bills so large that their “energy burden” (cost of bill to size of income) is the largest in any big city in America. Some Memphians are spending as much as 25% of their income on utility bills, putting them in the difficult position of having to choose between providing food and healthcare for their families or keeping the lights on and running water in their homes at night. This is unjust and unsustainable.
To make matters worse, the coronavirus pandemic is further impacting the economic circumstances of Memphis and its residents. By leaving TVA, the city can reap huge savings on electricity costs, which can be used to sustain critical city services and passed on to MLGW ratepayers in the form of lower monthly bills.
News
The Plan
It’s time for Memphis to leave TVA, saving the city one-third on its wholesale energy prices. This amounts to $333 million per year or more, savings which could passed onto Memphis households. And by embarking upon an ambitious weatherization and energy efficiency program, the City could put more money in Memphians’ pocket, and create 300 jobs.
For more details on how the City could save money on electricity by leaving TVA, download the report.
For more details on how the City could create jobs and save money for residents through energy efficiency, download the “Save Energy Save Dollars” plan.
Take Action
Why not act now? Memphians: Ask your city council member to support leaving TVA for cheaper, greener alternative power!
The following organizations support the Save Energy, Save Dollars plan to provide free weatherization and direct installation to low-income MLGW ratepayers, as well as doing away with the flat fee charges on low-income customer bills.
OUR PARTNERS
Memphis AFL-CIO Labor Council
The Memphis AFL-CIO Labor Council is a democratically elected body dedicated to represent the interests of working Memphians. We mobilize our members and community partners to advocate for social and economic justice and we strive daily to vanquish oppression and make our communities better for all people—regardless of race, color, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, or ethnic or national origin.
Memphis A. Philip Randolph Institute
The Senior Constituency Group of the AFL-CIO that promotes the full participation of women and minorities in the union movement and ensure unions hear and respond to the concerns of the communities they represent. The Memphis APRI works to strengthen the ties between labor and the community. By boosting the political impact of black voters and increasing black participation in labors’ base of support we have become a leading voice on economic, political and industrial policy decisions affecting all American workers.
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1288 Union
IBEW Local 1288 Union represents the employees of MLGW. IBEW is the oldest and largest electrical union in the world. As said by IBEW International President Barry, “IBEW [members] want a world where a man can go to a safe workplace, earn a fair wage and use his skills to do a good day’s work. We want a world where a woman can develop her talents to the fullest and have a wealth of opportunity before her … where workers can retire with dignity, with the security of knowing their healthcare is affordable and available … where children are treated like the precious treasure they are—nurtured, educated and loved so they can carry the torch into the future, … and where workers can organize and bargain collectively to achieve all these things in fairness and in justice.”
