They suggest energy systems should not be “marketized.”
A coalition of lawmakers spearheaded by Representatives Cori Bush of Missouri and Jamal Bowman of New York is calling for electric power to be government owned.
In a new resolution they unveiled Thursday the said the country should “transition away from investor-owned utilities and marketized energy systems [by] acquiring them through the Federal Government” and turning them over to state, local or tribal ownership, or community or cooperative ownership.
The proposal calls electricity “as a basic human right” and suggests that utilities have not been properly regulated and corporate monopolies have been the result. The legislators cite issues involving climate change, the fact that many struggle to pay their electric bills, and crises including power outages due to natural disasters.
As a resolution rather than a bill, if the measure passed it would be an expression of sentiment, not a law.
There is currently one federally owned power corporation, the Tennessee Valley Authority, which provides power to the state and parts of six others.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Congress as they evaluate the concept of federalizing the nation’s power grids.
- For the government regulators of electrical power as they oversee the utility companies.
- For U.S. officials working to protect America’s power grid from cyberattacks and resolve other vulnerabilities.
Sources: The Hill, Business Insider
