POWERLINES

A Guide to the Power and Influence of Electric Utilities

In The News

We are constantly updating this section to bring you the latest news, stories, tweets, and action items. Click the updates below to learn more and check back for the latest!

Power companies spend millions to fight Maine’s proposed non-profit utility

The US’s first state-run public power company could be created when Maine votes later this year – but utilities are fighting it

story

Power companies quietly pushed $215m into US politics via dark money groups

Power companies quietly pushed $215m into US politics via dark money groups Donations have helped utilities increase electricity prices, hinder solar schemes and helped elect sympathetic legislators

story

In the Southeast, power company money flows to news sites that attack their critics

Terry Dunn couldn't fathom why Alabama's residents — among the poorest in the U.S. — pay some of the nation's most expensive electricity bills.

story

Utilities Continue to Profit from Pandemic Misery & Obstruct Energy Transition

Hardly a day passes where we don't read another horror story about utility companies and how they are failing us. Gouging captive customers. Gobbling up bailout money. Stalling on renewable energy. The list goes on.

story

Entergy Resisted Upgrading New Orleans' Power Grid. Residents Paid The Price

NPR - The day after Wilma Banks lost power, the stale summer air inside her New Orleans apartment became suffocating...

News

The People's Utilities Playbook

Solar United Neighbors - Electric utilites have expanded into almost every aspect of our lives to become one of the most powerful and concentrated industries on Earth...

Action Item

Twitter - @twittlesis

"But private investor-owned electric utilities, responsible for about two-thirds of all national electricity sales, have for years waged a relentless campaign to undermine the decentralized, justice-centered approach to energy generation and distribution."

Utilities are some of the most powerful companies around

These guides on utility corporate power are MUST-READS for anyone who supports energy democracy: http://bit.ly/utilitiesplaybook Amazing work from @SolarNeighbors & @EnergyDemocTour!

Twitter - @twittlesis

Utility companies are using their monopoly power and money extracted from captive communities to lobby to weaken an already insufficient climate agenda...

Utilities. We all know what they are. Well, kind of.

PowerLines: A Guide to the Power and Influence of Electric Utilities

In every city and state, utilities are some of the most powerful players around. Their names and logos are everywhere, from primetime TV commercials to sponsorship lists for summertime music festivals. We don’t have much of a choice over which utility companies we do business with, and for many of us, we don’t even really know how they work and why they are so powerful.

This primer is aimed at helping to demystify the power surrounding utilities. It sketches out the utility power structure, offers strategies for researching utility corporate power, presents case studies of utility power at the state and city levels, and profiles local movements that are leading the fightback against utility power.

We focus mostly on one kind of utility: investor-owned electric utilities.

Whether you’re interested in joining or starting a campaign or simply want to know why your local utility company seems to be everywhere you turn, this primer is for you.

New from LittleSis

Campaign Resources

Now you know what electric utilites are and how they push their agenda but what can we do about it?

Read first-hand accounts from campaigners, organizers, and activists working to challenge the power of utilities where they live.
Find a campaign near you!
Check out our handy resources and guides for campaigners dealing with rate cases

research Resources

Ready to start mapping the power behind electric utilities?

Read our guides to help you get started with handy walkthroughs of important research databases and methodologies.
Review case studies that use the resources outlined in our research guides to create a comprehensive look at the power and influence of major utilities.
See recent reports from LittleSis and others researching utilities.

PowerLines101.org is a microsite of