A public community meeting on Board of Public Utilities’ bills is planned for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30, at the South Branch Library, 3104 Strong Ave., Kansas City, Kansas.
Community members are demanding the BPU stop utility disconnections and also are demanding local government leaders to remove fees and taxes from BPU utility bills.
“BPU and the UG Commissioners need to stop dangerous utility disconnections and end regressive fees on utility bills,” said Louise Lynch, community organizer. “Our demands are necessary to ensure that our community’s path to clean energy is just and equitable.”
Community members are also demanding transparency and accountability for moving BPU from coal to clean energy to meet the region’s net-zero carbon pollution goal in the KC Regional Climate Action Plan, according to a spokesman.
According to the group, BPU disconnected over 10,000 accounts in 2021, including over 1000 accounts per month during some of the coldest winter months in 2021-2022.
“In order to protect customers from involuntary shut-offs and high prices, BPU should work with UG Commissioners to access millions in federal environmental justice grants. Local government leaders should facilitate community planning across Wyandotte County with help from the Kansas Energy Office,” said Ty Gorman, Kansas campaign representative for Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign. “There have been many public comments demanding improvements from BPU in recent Board, UG Commission, and Mayoral task force meetings.”
Volunteer activists have compiled high-level demands for BPU and local government leaders, including:
- UG Commissioners should instruct BPU to discontinue any water or electric shut offs that might put customers at health risk.
- UG Commissioners should remove unrelated fees or taxes on the BPU bill. No one should be put at risk of losing water or power because of inappropriate city charges.
- The UG Commission should amend the BPU Charter to transparently plan (IRP) with KCK communities and city government to access federal funding, lower customer bills, eliminate coal pollution in our community, and keep us safe and housed by facilitating weatherization, energy efficiency, rent and other assistance access for low-income customers.