Across New York, a growing “Public Power” movement seeks to replace New York’s current system of privately-held energy utilities with publicly-owned utilities. Citing climate change and equity concerns, Public Power advocates argue that the current model for electricity delivery has failed everyday New Yorkers. Instead, advocates have proposed two bills—the New York Build Public Renewables Act and the New York Utility Democracy Act—to bring private utilities under state ownership.
On February 7, 2022 at 6:00 pm EST, “Public Power: Examining legal challenges facing the movement for publicly-owned utilities in New York” will assemble a diverse panel to discuss legal and policy considerations stemming from the Public Power proposal. Scheduled speakers include Jay Wu, a strategy coordinator for Public Power New York, Shelley Welton, a legal scholar who examines how climate change is transforming energy and environmental law and governance, Radina Valova, Vice President of the Interstate Renewable Energy Council’s Regulatory Program, and Justin Gundlach, senior attorney at the Institute for Policy Integrity.
This event is sponsored by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School and the New York City Environmental Law Leadership Institute (NYCELLI). Christian Harned, Samantha Peltz, Lauren Phillips, and Rachel Ramirez-Guest—authors of a NYCELLI whitepaper on this topic—will moderate the panel.