Wednesday August 19th saw a flotilla of 11 kayaks, and a canoe catamaran displaying an enormous round banner, paddle up the Schuylkill River to a meet-up with PECO ratepayers who are calling on PECO to forgive utility bills accumulated during the pandemic and to take action on climate change.

On Thursday, August 6th the PA Public Utility Commission rejected PECO’s proposed bill relief plan in a 2-2 vote. In this time of sky-high unemployment in low-income communities, payment of utility bills has become an impossible burden for many residents. They are faced with the dilemma of trying to pay for electricity and gas with money they don’t have vs. watching their arrearages mount into the hundreds and thousands of dollars and threatening future shut-offs.

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Yesterday, leaders from the Power Local Green Jobs (PLGJ) Campaign sent PECO a roadmap the company could take to transition away from electricity generated by fossil fuels. Since 2015, the PLGJ campaign has demanded that PECO create a plan to source 20% of its electricity from local solar projects in a way that prioritizes community-owned solar and the creation of thousands of new jobs. In response to PECO’s inaction, PLGJ members released a plan of their own, naming that PECO’s inadequate investment in renewable energy sources and local job creation has stalled any real action on climate change.

The climate is changing, why isn’t PECO? Since 2015 activists in the Power Local Green Jobs (PLGJ) campaign have been pressing PECO to plan a transition away from energy generated by dangerous fossil fuels. Yet business-as-usual thinking continues to dominate the company's actions.

HARRISBURG - Today activists gathered at the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to pray for prompt action to reduce the use of fossil fuels for electricity and accelerate the transition to renewable energy sources, particularly solar. Since 2015, activists from the Southeastern Pennsylvania-based Power Local Green Jobs campaign have been pressing their utility (PECO) to lead the way in transitioning away from electricity generated by fossil fuels. The Campaign is demanding that PECO buy at least 20% of its electricity from local solar projects by 2025, in a way that prioritizes community-ownership of solar panels and local green jobs creation in PECO’s territory.

PHOENIXVILLE, PA — On Wednesday, December 11, four EQAT activists were arrested for blocking traffic at a PECO service center in Phoenixville, PA. The activists were joined by over a dozen ratepayers, led by local climate justice organization Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT). The concerned ratepayers say that even though utility provider PECO plays a key role in disaster preparedness and mitigation, it has refused to prepare for climate crisis. They asserted that PECO should aggressively respond to climate change — a growing cause of weather-related disasters that impact the region — through local renewable energy sourcing.

PHILADELPHIA, PA — On Thursday, Sept. 26, dozens of adults and elders descended on PECO’s headquarters with a pressing question: “Climate is changing. Why isn’t PECO?” These activists, including educators and grandparents, were moved to action by the tremendous call of youth leaders around the world, and in particular the thousands of children who poured into the streets of Philadelphia this past Friday. Thursday’s action included speakers from communities affected by PECO’s negligence, and activists participated in civil disobedience to call attention to the current climate crisis. “As adults who care about and love the young people in our community, we know it is our obligation to continue to challenge our region’s electric utility, PECO, to share its plan for avoiding climate catastrophe. Adults can no longer sit back as corporations like PECO continue to cash in on the future of Philadelphia’s youth,” said Dwight Dunston, a Philadelphia educator and board member of Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT)

This week, in the midst of a heat emergency, Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT) publicly demanded in two different protest actions to know why PECO, and its parent company Exelon, has failed to take bold action on the climate crisis by creating local solar jobs.

COATESVILLE, PA – Coatesville was once a local industry leader, but the steel industry only employs a fraction of the employees that it once did. Communities like Coatesville could use a boost from a new and growing industry: local solar.

WILMINGTON - On Tuesday, April 30th, EQAT members brought our truth and persistent demand for justice to Exelon’s (PECO’s parent company) annual shareholder meeting, which was held in Wilmington, DE this year. As PECO’s parent company, Exelon is responsible for its failures. Outside the meeting we displayed our giant report card and pie graphs, props that helped us tell our story - that as PECO’s parent company, Exelon has to take care of PECO’s failing grade in transitioning to sustainable solar power.