Want Peace? End Our Fossil Fuel Addiction!!! CALL CPUC TODAY!!!

Greetings, California Activists & Consumers of Conscience!

It's beginning to appear that THE MOST DIRECT ROUTE to peace in the Middle
East is to end our fossil fuel addiction: The US invaded Afghanistan so that
Unocal could build a natural gas pipeline; the US invaded Iraq so that
Chevron could get their oil--so that the multi-trillion-dollar oil and
natural gas industries can keep going, at the cost of hundreds of thousands
of human lives and hundreds of thousands of species and ecosystems, just for
starters! DIRECT ACTIONS to conserve, "go solar," and shut down filthy power
plants are in order, as well as pressuring elected and appointed officials
to take that course!

There's no more corrupt body than the California Public Utilities Commission
(CPUC), the handmaid of the Utility Industry who screws the public as much
as that industry screws its investors, its employees, and first and
foremost, its captive customers: US! (Sit in on ANY session: it's enough to
turn your stomach! SBC, Comcast, PG&E, etc--these corporations are
criminal--fleecing the public--and let off the hook for billions by CPUC,
who is supposed to be watching over our best interests!) They are at it
again, planning to hand over the $400 million energy efficiency (EE) budget
to PG&E--a case of the fox guarding the hen house if ever there was one!
PLEASE READ the alert below from Barbara George/Womens Energy Matters--THE
champion of the public with this fiendish commission, and call, email, or
fax CPUC TODAY or TOMORROW at the latest, to delay their decision for two
weeks until the newly appointed commissioners can familiarize themselves
with the alternate EE proposals and the public can comment (CPUC held the
public comment period over the holidays...)

Other things you can do: Join the grassroots campaign to shut down the PG&E
and Mirant power plants in San Francisco (http://www.greenaction.org) and end
environmental racism; Join the grassroots campaign to pressure auto
manufacturers to produce fuel-efficient and non-fossil-fuel-powered vehicles
(http://www.globalexchange.org); Get off the corporate power grid yourselves and
help others to do so, by biking, taking public transit, using less
fossil-fuel generated energy sources, and pressure your elected officials to
implement renewable energy programs in your city, such as the Independent
Energy Ordinance in San Francisco!

CPUC ALERT! - See Background, Contact info and Sample letter below
Please contact the CPUC this Tues-Wed and ask your elected officials to do
so too.

STATEWIDE COALITION ASKS CPUC FOR MORE TIME TO HEAR PUBLIC'S DESIRE FOR
CHANGES TO PROPOSED DECISION ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY
BACKGROUND: Women's Energy Matters (WEM), Sierra Club-California, and the
California Coalition for Energy Efficiency are asking the California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC) to "hold" the vote on Energy Efficiency
administration currently scheduled for Jan. 13, 2005 until Jan. 27th at the
earliest to give the public time to contact new Commissioners Dian Gruenich
and Steve Poizner, who take office Jan. 11th. The proposed decision was
issued for comment during the holidays.

The proposed decision returns monopoly control of California's
$400million/yr. energy efficiency system to utilities. In doing so, it
ignores the superior record of non-utility energy efficiency providers that
have produced more energy savings with the public's money than utilities. It
also ignores the first-ever audit of utility programs, which found inflated
energy savings claims, negligence, excessive administrative costs, and
favoritism in selecting contractors. The Coalition asks Commissioners to
examine the evidence of massively overstated energy savings claims before
rewarding utilities for programs that are not as successful as they seem.

The Coalition is particularly concerned with preserving opportunities for
independent energy efficiency programs based on AB117 ("Community Choice of
Energy") that provides for "any party to apply to administer cost-effective
energy efficiency programs."
For the past three years the Commission offered opportunities for cities,
non-profits and independent businesses to apply to the CPUC to run programs
with 20% of the funds, however the proposed decision puts utilities in
charge of all programs, including a utility-run "competition" for a small
amount of funds. This puts Community Choice cities in the position of
applying to utilities to run their own energy efficiency programs.

This decision will have a big impact on California's economy and
environment. The Coalition asks Commissioners to take time to consider the
most environmentally sound and cost-effective policy such as the California
Standard Offer for Energy Efficiency, which is fair, transparent and highly
effective. A similar system in Texas is producing 40% more energy savings
compared to current California programs.
Thank you very much for your help.
Barbara George, Executive Director, Women's Energy Matters * 510-915-6215
WEM, P.O. Box 883723, San Francisco 94188-3723.
WEM is a public interest party ("intervenor") in the energy efficiency case
at the CPUC.
For more information on this issue and the California Coalition for Energy
Efficiency, see http://www.womensenergymatters.org Read the decision at
http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUBLISHED/COMMENT_DECISION/41750.htm
You can listen online to a radio discussion of the proposed decision and its
relation to Community Choice and solar/wind energy on KPFA's Living Room
with Kris Welch Friday 1/7/05, 12 pm at
http://www.kpfa.org/archives/archives.php?id=17

CONTACT INFO (See SAMPLE LETTER below for talking points)
Send all communications by fax to 415-703-2411 or email to:
public.advisor [at] cpuc.ca.gov , CommissionerPeevey [at] cpuc.ca.gov , "Commissioner
Brown" GFB [at] cpuc.ca.gov
Bcc: "Women's Energy Matters" wem [at] igc.org
Phones:
President Michael Peevey 415-703-3703
Commissioner Geoff Brown 415-703-1407
New Commissioners Dian Grueneich & Steve Poizner (no contact info yet)
Public Advisor (toll-free) 866-849-8390
SAMPLE LETTER (ok to send by email or fax & feel free to make changes)

[date]

President Michael Peevey
Commissioners Geoff Brown, Dian Grueneich & Steve Poizner
California Public Utilities Commission
505 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco CA 94102

Re: R0108028 Proposed Decision on Energy Efficiency Administrative Structure

Dear President Peevey and Commissioners Brown, Grueneich and Poizner:
I am [say a few words about yourself and why this issue is important to
you.] I respectfully request that you "hold" the vote on Energy Efficiency
administration currently scheduled for Jan. 13, 2005 until Jan. 27th at the
earliest. It is troubling that the proposed decision was issued for comment
during the holidays, when government bodies are on recess, and the public is
unable to contact new Commissioners until Jan. 11th, only two days before
the vote.

I understand that current programs can be extended to cover any delay. Two
weeks would not make a big difference in the programs, but would give the
Commission more time to consider the public's views on this complex and
significant issue which has a big impact on California's economy and
environment.
The proposed decision returns monopoly control of California's
$400million/yr energy efficiency (EE) system to utilities, that have a
conflict of interest with energy efficiency. The decision ignores the
superior record of non-utility energy efficiency programs that have produced
more energy savings and other benefits with the public's money. It also
ignores the first-ever Audit of utility programs, which found inflated
energy savings claims, negligence, excessive administrative costs, and
favoritism in selecting contractors. Rather than rewarding utilities for
programs that are not as successful as they seem, I ask Commissioners to
support a fair, transparent and effective system such as the California
Standard Offer. In Texas, a similar system is producing 40% more savings per
dollar compared to current California programs.

I urgently request you to allow Community Choice cities to administer their
own programs. For the past three years the Commission offered opportunities
for cities, non-profits and independent businesses to apply to the CPUC to
run programs, however the proposed decision puts utilities in charge of all
programs. The proposed decision forces Cities and others to apply to
utilities, to compete against utilities for some of the funds.

Thank you for considering my concerns.

Sincerely,
[your name and city]