Hello. I’m Wil Gregersen, President of Noble Owl, a Rhode Island nonprofit working for a better future, and this is a message for Warwick.
I have a question for you. Are you happy with your electric bill? Electric rates jumped nearly 50% in October, and our bills are suddenly hundreds of dollars more than they were a year ago—putting a strain on every family and every business in the city.
These are tough times. Our lives are getting harder. Our problems are getting worse, and we seem to be slipping further and further down into a hole. Our utility bills are sky high. Our economy continues to weaken as we send another $3 billion out-of-state to buy electricity and gas for the year. Warwick’s high schools are worn out, and the city is struggling to find the money it needs to build new schools. Our weather is becoming unpredictable and increasingly dangerous.
We’re trapped, but there’s a way out. Three conservative U.S. states have practical examples we can follow, and if we take what those states are doing and do the same things for ourselves, we can bring down energy prices, give our economy a $3 billion boost year after year, have more money to spend on our cities, and supercharge our fight against climate change.
In Nebraska, people and businesses pay some of the lowest electric rates in the country because electricity is distributed by publicly-owned utilities. Private companies charge extra to make a profit, but public utilities don’t need to make a profit so their rates are fair. Nebraska utilities care about their customers. Utility jobs are good jobs, and taxes are lower because the utilities pay their share. How low can our rates and taxes go if we supply our own power?
The Batesville School District in Arkansas built up a $1.8 million surplus in three years by installing solar panels and making their schools energy-efficient. The district was running out of money until it hired an energy services company to find ways to increase revenue. If a school district can take in that kind of money, how much could an entire state make?
Alaska has a $75 billion nest egg, and Alaskans get a dividend check every year. Income from energy sales and mining is invested in the Alaska Permanent Fund, and interest from the fund is distributed to every adult and child in the state. The dividend system was designed to protect the fund from being drained because if everyone is expecting a check, it can’t be touched. What kind of surplus can Rhode Island build if it follows Alaska’s example
Imagine your life if your utility bills and taxes were lower, if the economy was stronger, and if you and every member of your family received a dividend check every year. Imagine if Warwick could build new schools, if the state had billions in savings, and if we made real headway against climate change by quickly eliminating Rhode Island’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Our first step is to hire experts to create a technical and economic plan for a new, state-of-the-art energy system that would tell us how to build it and how to get the most out of it—including how to get the most revenue for Warwick. A blueprint for a Rhode Island system will run somewhere between $1 and $2.5 million, and the City of Warwick can pay for it by applying for a grant from the $250 million that the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 set aside for planning clean energy projects.
We don’t have to sit back and surrender to our problems. We can step up and take care of ourselves. The people of Warwick are resilient and resourceful. There is a path we can follow, and if we act now, a wonderful future is within reach.
If that sounds like a future you want, I’m going to ask you to do one simple thing. Share this message with your family, friends, and neighbors and ask them to share it, too. Spreading the word is how we’re going to get this done because when enough of us want it, that’s when this can happen.
I look forward to a better life for everyone.
Thank you.
