Activists demand City Council “stop giving PECO a pass”

PHILADELPHIA – On Tuesday morning, dozens of interfaith activists congregated at Philadelphia City Hall to demand that politicians stop giving PECO a pass on jobs and locally powered solar energy. At City Hall, speakers from POWER and EQAT argued that any “Green New Deal” for Philadelphia can’t get there with this PECO, which refuses to commit to increasing its use of solar energy above the current 1% requirement. Volunteers with the Power Local Green Jobs campaign say that PECO will continue failing Philadelphia unless it commits to investing in 20% local rooftop solar and the creation of thousands of local green jobs by 2025.

“For too long, PECO has been extracting $1 million a day from the Philadelphia region. We know that PECO is accountable to Chicago-based Exelon, but PECO needs to answer to the people in this region. Any politician who cares about green jobs and the future of this city needs to reckon with how PECO, our private-owned utility, is holding us back — PECO must create green jobs and 20% local solar by 2025, or get out of the business”  said Tabitha Skervin, the campaign director with Earth Quaker Action Team.

Power Local Green Jobs is a faith-based economic justice campaign led by Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT) and Philadelphians Organized to Witness Empower and Rebuild (POWER). Begun in 2015, the campaign uses nonviolent direct action to pressure PECO, the largest utility in PA, to spur job growth through solar expansion in areas with high unemployment. Learn more at www.powerinterfaith.org and www.eqat.org.