Maria Sipin discusses what the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund has accomplished, how volunteers from the community have shaped the fund’s priorities, and how to evaluate project success.… Read More
The Biden Administration’s proposed merger guidelines represent a significant shift in policy from the current guidelines. If implemented, the guidelines would help stop harmful mergers that concentrate power in too few hands. Our new explainer breaks down the basics of the new merger guidelines and explains how they could reshape merger enforcement, the economy, and our democracy.… Read More
The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division are proposing new Merger Guidelines and they want you to share your stories. You are the experts on how monopolies — like Amazon, CVS, Dollar General, Comcast, and beyond — have impacted your communities and these stories are key to ensuring the final guidelines are strong. See the link in this post on how to share your stories!… Read More
In 2023, Maryland passed legislation (HB 908) making permanent a successful 7-year community solar pilot program. The now-permanent program allows for unlimited capacity and requires that 40% of each project’s output serves low- to moderate-income subscribers.… Read More
Alex Hill discusses a report on utility redlining in electric distribution, the impacts of inadequate grid infrastructure, and how the report helped make a case against the utility’s proposed rate increase.… Read More
Communities are adopting innovative strategies to sustain their grocery stores or create new ones amidst the challenges posed by grocery sector consolidation. Some local governments are even creating a public option by operating grocery stores themselves. Here’s how these places are ensuring access to fresh, healthy food. … Read More
A major shift is afoot in the federal government’s stance on big business. The US Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission’s draft merger guidelines represent a major break with the neoliberal assumptions that have underpinned US antitrust enforcement for the last 40 years. In the Project Syndicate, Stacy Mitchell and Ron Know write how the draft guidelines, if adopted, would stop runaway corporate consolidation, rebuild local economies, and help preserve US democracy.… Read More
Mari Hernandez explains why we need transparent and efficient interconnection standards, how the regulatory landscape can adapt to new technologies, and where IREC’s Freeing the Grid initiative can help.… Read More
Small fishermen in the Pacific Northwest are taking a stand against Pacific Seafood, the dominant West Coast crab processor, alleging that the corporation is exploiting its power to manipulate industry regulations in its favor and drive down the prices the fishermen receive for their catch. Writing in Civil Eats, Ron Knox provides our latest dispatch on how local economies are suffering the effects of unchecked monopoly power.… Read More
