Similarly in memphis tennessee mlgw and the city

Similarly, in Memphis, Tennessee MLGW and the
city council have taken several measures to involve
the public in their deliberations on whether to sep-
arate from TVA (although, as Pearl Walker – Civic
Engagement Coordinator at the Southern Alliance
for Clean Energy and Chair of Memphis NAACP’s
Environmental Justice Committee – states, significantly
more intentionality around community engagement
and participation is needed).
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149
Moreover, Ashura
Lewis states that around the country some commu-
nities have had success in shifting the practices and
programs of electric cooperatives by securing direct
representation on the board.
150
More generally, because of their ownership struc-
ture, community utilities such as LADWP can be
more accessible and responsive to organizing and the
concerns of the community and customers than inves-
tor-owned utilities or larger-scale power generators like
TVA. For instance, Sandra Upchurch, a retired leader of
the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, notes a marked
difference between the accessibility, responsiveness,
and trustworthiness of MLGW and TVA. Whereas TVA
responded to community organizing around energy
poverty and pollution issues with fear, heightened
security, and an overt suppression of public comments,
Upchurch recalls, MLGW has been more receptive
and respectful (as well as accessible via supportive
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With regard to LADWP, Ramirez has similar concerns, stating
that “they don’t think about how to make things accessible,
and how to use accessible language so that the vast majority
of people who are not trained as engineers can understand.
They have good intentions when they create these programs,
but they don’t understand that accessibility is a challenge for
folks in our community.” Andres Ramirez. Interview by Johanna
Bozuwa and Raj Rao. August 30, 2021.
city council members).
151
Compared to TVA, “I trust
MLGW,” Upchurch states.
152
This sentiment is echoed by Cabrera, who states
that if LADWP itself is not being responsive to com-
munity concerns, or is dragging its feet on certain
actions, organizers and residents can go to their elected
representatives and attend city council meetings, which
is a far more accessible space than the state-level utility
commissions which regulate investor-owned utilities.
153
This is because these commissions are often highly tech-
nical spaces with atomized proceedings that prevent
cross-cutting issues from being addressed and require
teams of lawyers to navigate. Moreover, “ultimately
as rate payers we are also voters,” Cabrera reminds
us. “So we vote on who is on the city council, and we
vote in the mayor who appoints the commissioners
of LADWP.”
154
Ramirez agrees with this perspective,
adding that an additional problem for local community
groups related to public utility commissions is that
the investor-owned utilities they regulate often cover
multiple jurisdictions across a wide geographic area
and one particular community’s concerns and input
may not be valued as much as at the city council and
executive level in their particular jurisdiction.