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Nguvu ya Jumuiya

Hatua ya Hali ya Hewa ya Ndani

Nguvu ya jumuiya ni imani kwamba watu wanapaswa kuwa na sauti juu ya maeneo wanayoishi na huduma wanazotumia. Ni vuguvugu linalokua – lenye jumuiya kote nchini, na dunia nzima, zikifanya kazi pamoja kuboresha maeneo, huduma za umma na maisha ya kila mmoja wao. Nguvu ya Jumuiya ni hatua muhimu kuelekea njia ya kijani kibichi ya kufanya na kufikiri katika maisha yetu ya kila siku.   Inaweza kusaidia kuweka wananchi na jamii katikati ya mpito wa kaboni ya chini.  Nguvu ya Jumuiya inawahusisha moja kwa moja katika maamuzi ya nishati, na kuwapa udhibiti zaidi juu ya uwezekano wa kubadili mtindo wa maisha endelevu zaidi.

Kwa hivyo ikiwa hujawahi kusikia kuhusu "nguvu ya jumuiya" au unataka maelezo zaidi kuihusu - uko mahali pazuri!

"Nguvu ya jamii inarejelea ushiriki katika miradi ya nishati ya jamii inayoandaliwa na vikundi vya nishati vya ndani ili kuunda ugawanaji wa pamoja wa nishati ya kijani."


Lakini hiyo ina maana gani kwako kama mtumiaji?

Inazidi kuwa kawaida kwa jumuiya za wenyeji kujihusisha na miradi inayoendeleza maisha ya kijani na endelevu. Miradi hii inaanzia kwa kuweka paneli mpya za miale ya jua katika eneo lote hadi kuwekeza na kuandaa uzalishaji wa mitambo mipya ya upepo ndani ya nchi. Nishati inayozalishwa kutoka kwa rasilimali hizi niinayoweza kufanywa upya, ambayo inamaanisha kuwa haitaisha kamwe - tofauti na mafuta ya kisukuku.

Lakini haiishii hapo - nishati inayozalishwa kutoka kwa miradi hii inatumiwa na wasambazaji wa nishati kukupa umeme wako. 


Ni nini umuhimu wa nguvu ya jamii?

Kuna sababu nyingi kwa nini aina hii ya uzalishaji wa nguvu ni ufunguo wa kutengeneza njia kwa siku zijazo za kijani kibichi na angavu. Sio tu kwa jamii zetu bali kwa sisi wenyewe na mustakabali wa familia zetu wenyewe.

Utoaji kaboni - Tunaondoka kwenye 'nishati ya shamba la visukuku' ya mtindo wa zamani kwa sababu ni mbaya kwa uchafuzi wa mazingira na haitadumu milele. Badala ya hili, tunatumia na kutangaza rasilimali za nishati zinazodumu kwa muda mrefu na utoaji wa kaboni kidogo. Jambo kuu la kukumbuka hapa ni kwamba sio wafanyabiashara pekee wanaounga mkono kitendo hiki - watu kote nchini wanajitwika kuchukua hatua ya kutafuta na kujenga upya upya kwa kukosekana kwa ruzuku ya serikali.

Uwekezaji upya- Unaposaidia miradi inayoendeshwa na jamii, unaunga mkono uwekaji upya katika miradi hii. Sehemu ya faida zinazozalishwa huwekwa tena katika miradi ya nishati ya jumuiya ya ndani, na kuichochea zaidi na kusaidia Marekani inapobadilisha sekta yake ya nishati. Hii, kwa upande wake, inaboresha uhuru wetu wa nishati tunapoelekea kuhakikisha tunapata nishati endelevu na salama kwa miaka mingi ijayo.

Nguvu ya Mtumiaji- Inaonekana cheesy, lakini ni kweli kwamba kama mtumiaji una nguvu. Uzalishaji wa nishati ya jamii huweka mkazo katika mikono ya watu kama wewe; ambapo kuna muundo wa shirika unaokuwezesha kushiriki katika maamuzi ya nishati. Inakusaidia wewe binafsi uendelee kuelekea maisha endelevu na ya chini ya kaboni kwa kufanya maamuzi mahiri.


Kwa nini unapaswa kuwekeza katika nishati ya jamii?

Kuna jibu wazi kwa hili - jifanyie mwenyewe. Unapochagua mtoa huduma anayetumia nishati ya jumuiya - unanunua katika ukuaji wa mradi wa nishati ya jumuiya, ambao unanufaisha jumuiya ya karibu na hatimaye unakufaidi wewe kama mtumiaji. Unapata ufikiaji wa nishati ya kijani kibichi, unaunga mkono kuwekeza tena katika nishati ya kijani na unafanya chaguo sahihi linapokuja suala la maisha endelevu.

Kusaidia nguvu za jamii kunamaanisha kuwa utakuwa mtetezi wa ukuaji katika sekta hii, kwa hivyo inakuza uwajibikaji wa kibinafsi wa kijamii na kuweka njia kwa maisha bora ya baadaye.

Meeting our 100% Renewable Energy Goals

Concord has set ambitious goals to power both city operations and residential energy use with 100% renewable energy. A Community Power program is our ticket to achieving these goals and combating the impacts of climate change.


Concord Energy & Environment Advisory Committee (EEAC) Recommendation:
Recently, EEAC voted unanimously to recommend to City Council the adoption of Community Power through the New Hampshire Community Power Coalition.  Check out the EEAC Report here. 

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Benefits of Community Power through the Community Power Coalition:

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1. Economic Benefits: 

The Community Power Coalition (aka "the Coalition") actively works towards securing affordable and stable energy prices for its members. By leveraging collective bargaining power, Concord can ensure cost-effective energy service that benefits both residents and local businesses. The Coalition has already shown it can beat even the most aggressive utility pricing and has beaten for-profit brokers’ prices for the past two rate periods. If Concord had launched with part of the first wave of community power communities, it would have already saved its residents more than $6 million in lower electric bills over this past year. In addition, the Coalition model builds a financial reserve earmarked for each municipality to help even out future cost fluctuations and eventually to be used by each city or town for energy investments.

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2. Renewable Energy Initiatives: 

The Coalition is at the forefront of advocating for and implementing renewable energy projects. Joining the Coalition will create a way to complete community-scale renewable energy projects that will reduce the electric bills of all residents. This will increase access to renewable energy, which has previously been largely confined to wealthy homeowners. The Coalition is also dedicated to creating innovative rates that will encourage battery storage and other technological solutions to managing our electric demand. The Coalition offers power options that are 24.3%, 33%, 50% and 100% renewable energy and their rates for the 33% renewable option have been LOWER than the Public utility’s 24.3% renewable baseline. The Coalition is the pathway to meeting our energy goals.

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3. Community Engagement: 

Joining the Coalition fosters community engagement and education on sustainable practices. This will create a more informed and environmentally conscious citizenry, who will become more engaged in the delivery of clean power, paving the way for a greener and more resilient future for Concord. The role of a Concord representative on the Coalition also allows the city to participate in the governance of the Coalition, which is far more engagement than we have in our relationship with the utilities, which is purely transactional. 

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 4. Local Control: 

Membership in the Coalition provides Concord with increased control over our energy choices compared to purchasing from Eversource or UNITIL or being locked into a long broker-contract. It allows us to develop and implement localized, community-driven energy plans that align with our unique needs and values. You may have heard that the City would sacrifice its autonomy by being part of a Coalition, but we know that if the City wants to have a say in how the coalition is governed, our representative will have ample opportunity to serve on committees and exert influence in the decision making of the Coalition. Having only one vote in the collective decision making of the Coalition is  a small tradeoff for the dramatically better performance the Coalition has demonstrated. The risk of joining the Coalition is low: municipalities can withdraw from the coalition at any time if they are unhappy. In the broker model, municipalities have to ride out the multiyear contract and then renegotiate.

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Let's unite for a cleaner, greener, and more affordable Concord. Take the following 4 actions to be part of the change we all want to see. Together, we can make our city shine brighter than ever before. 

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Take 4 Steps for Community Power:

  1. Write City Council (email template below)

  2. Write an LTE (to submit click here)

  3. Spread the word!  Use social media. 

  4. Show up on March 11th, 7pm City Chambers to support Community Power. For an email reminder the day before the City Council meeting RSVP here. 

 

 

Resources:

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FAQ Community Power (1).png

Email Template

Let City Council know how you stand on Community Power!  To get you started, we created an email template below.  Feel free to copy, paste, and personalize this template and email it to City Council and the City Clerk (emails below). 

 

chamby@comcast.net, Nfennessy@concordnh.gov, Agradysexton@concordnh.gov, Fkeach@concordnh.gov, Jkurtz@concordnh.gov, Brenttoddconcord@gmail.com, mhorne@concordnh.gov, Jkretovic@concordnh.gov, Kmcnamaraward4@gmail.com, Sfbrown@concordnh.gov, Pwmclaughlin24@gmail.com, Jim4concord@gmail.com, Asekou@concordnh.gov, Kschultz@concordnh.gov, Jfoote@concordnh.gov, cityclerk@concordnh.gov

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Subject: Please Vote YES to Launch Community Power

 

Dear [City Counselor's Name],


I hope this email finds you well. My name is [Your Name], and I am one of your constituents in [your ward]. I was very pleased to learn of the Environment and Energy Advisory Committee’s (EEAC) recommendation to the council to enroll in community power and join the Community Power Coalition of NH (CPCNH). I am writing to urge you to vote in support of their recommendations and to join CPCNH on March 11th. 


As the EEAC found in the past six months of research, the Community Power Coalition of NH has been instrumental in the launch of municipal electric aggregation across the state and has consistently outperformed the rates offered by the utilities and the brokers. By joining CPCNHConcord can tap into a wealth of resources, expertise, and collaborative efforts that will reduce the burden of high energy costs for our residents, and help us transition towards a more sustainable and environmentally friendly energy system as is envisioned in the City’s goal adopted in July 2018 that 100% of electricity consumed in the City will come from renewable energy sources by 2030.


[[Choose from some of the reasons below]]


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1. Economic Benefits: The coalition actively works towards securing affordable and stable energy prices for its members. By leveraging collective bargaining power, Concord can ensure cost-effective energy service that benefits both residents and local businesses. CPCNH has already shown it can beat even the most aggressive utility pricing and has beaten for-profit brokers’ prices for the past two rate periods. If Concord had launched with part of the first wave of community power communities, it would have already saved its residents more than $6 million in lower electric bills over this past year. In addition, the CPCNH model builds a financial reserve earmarked for each municipality to help even out future cost fluctuations and eventually to be used by each city or town for energy investments.


2. Renewable Energy Initiatives: CPCNH is at the forefront of advocating for and implementing renewable energy projects. Joining the coalition will create a way to complete community-scale renewable energy projects that will reduce the electric bills of all residents. This will increase access to renewable energy, which has previously been largely confined to wealthy homeowners. CPCNH is also dedicated to creating innovative rates that will encourage battery storage and other technological solutions to managing our electric demand. CPCNH offers power options that are 24.3%, 33%, 50% and 100% renewable energy and their rates for the 33% renewable option have been LOWER than the Public utility’s 24.3% renewable baseline. CPCNH is the pathway to meeting our energy goals.


3. Community Engagement: Joining CPCNH fosters community engagement and education on sustainable practices. This will create a more informed and environmentally conscious citizenry, who will become more engaged in the delivery of clean power, paving the way for a greener and more resilient future for Concord. The role of a Concord representative on the coalition also allows the city to participate in the governance of the coalition, which is far more engagement than we have in our relationship with the utilities, which is purely transactional. 


 4. Local Control: Membership in CPCNH provides Concord with increased control over our energy choices compared to purchasing from Eversource or Unitil or being locked into a long broker-contract. It allows us to develop and implement localized, community-driven energy plans that align with our unique needs and values. You may have heard that the City would sacrifice its autonomy by being part of a coalition, but we know that if the City wants to have a say in how the coalition is governed, our representative will have ample opportunity to serve on committees and exert influence in the decision making of the coalition. Having only one  vote in the collective decision making of the Coalition is  a small tradeoff for the dramatically better performance CPCNH has demonstrated. The risk of joining the coalition is low: municipalities can withdraw from the coalition at any time if they are unhappy. In the broker model, municipalities have to ride out the multiyear contract and then renegotiate.


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I understand that decisions of this nature require careful consideration, and I appreciate the work you do on behalf of our city. I believe that joining the Community Power Coalition of NH is a positive step towards a more sustainable and resilient future for Concord.


I am more than willing to discuss this matter further or provide any additional information that may be helpful in your decision-making process. Thank you for your time and dedication to the well-being of our community.


Sincerely,


[Your Full Name]
[Your Contact Information]
 

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