Protest: Solidarity Across Borders for Just and Equitable Transition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, May 5, 2022
Contact: Nicole Horseherder, Tó Nizhóní Ání, 928-675-1851, nhorseherder@gmail.com
Adrian Herder, Tó Nizhóní Ání, 928-380-3914, a.herder92@gmail.com
Jessica Keetso, Tó Nizhóní Ání, 505-228-7085, jkeetso@yahoo.com
Rhys Maddigan, Social Justice Co-op NL, 604-358-8169, rhysjpatterson@gmail.com
Lea Mary Movelle, Social Justice Co-op NL, 709-763-9901, leaaamaryyy@gmail.com
Protest: Solidarity Across Borders for Just and Equitable Transition
Social Justice Co-operative NL and other supporters demonstrated outside of the Fortis Inc. annual meeting in St. John’s, Newfoundland to urge the owner of subsidiary Tucson Electric Power (TEP) to prioritize Just and Equitable Transition (JET) assistance for Navajo, Hopi and rural coal-impacted communities in Arizona and New Mexico
ST. JOHNS, Newfoundland – Representatives from grassroots groups in the U.S. and Canada rallied outside the annual meeting of Fortis Inc., the parent company of Arizona utility Tucson Electric Power (TEP), to urge the two to meet their corporate responsibility to provide Just and Equitable Transition support to coal-impacted communities in the American Southwest, where they are shutting down coal-burning power plants that are no longer economic to run.
TEP owns or operates four large coal-burning power plants in the Southwestern United States. Based on the declining economics of these plants, TEP executives in 2017 began making bottom-line decisions to shut them down. One plant, Navajo Generating Station (NGS) – which was the largest coal plant in the Western U.S. – was closed in 2019. Another will be retired this summer, and the remaining two are scheduled to close within the decade. All are being shut down decades earlier than planned, leaving the isolated communities where they are located reeling from the economic upheaval.
“The issues we’re highlighting here today transcend borders,” said Jessica Keetso of the Navajo grassroots group Tó Nizhóni Ání, which has been fighting for Just and Equitable Transition funding for years. “Diné and Hopi communities sacrificed our land, our water, our air and our resources for decades to keep the lights on in cities in Arizona, Nevada and Southern California. After reaping untold millions in profits for 50 years, it’s time for Fortis and TEP to step up and meet their corporate responsibility to assist communities where their plants are located. They can’t be allowed to simply walk away.”
Members of Canadian social justice groups that have long been critical of Fortis joined in the rally to push the company to act on transition assistance. Keetso, Lea Mary Movelle of Social Justice Co-op NL and others formally requested a meeting with Fortis CEO, and to their credit, Fortis CEO David Hutchens and TEP chief executive Susan Gray agreed to talk.
“We’re grateful for the time they gave us,” said Movelle, whose organization helped coordinate Thursday’s action, “but we still have strong misgivings about the delays and excuses the company is making for not providing Just Transition assistance now. Communities are hurting as a result of corporate profiteering and boardroom decisions. It’s time to stop talking and start doing. We are worried these companies simply want to continue to profit, only now off renewables, without addressing the legacy of coal or providing support like re-training for workers”
Other utilities sharing ownership in the plants with TEP have already made significant commitments to providing transition assistance. Arizona Public Service, a co-owner with TEP in the Four Corners Plant and NGS, both located on the Navajo Nation, has agreed to contribute nearly $150 million to the Navajo Nation and other coal-impacted communities in Arizona. It has also committed to developing 600 MW of new solar projects on tribal land. Salt River Project, a co-owner with TEP in NGS, is building 200 MW of solar in partnership with the Navajo Nation and Public Service of New Mexico, a co-owner with TEP in San Juan Generating Station and the Four Corners plant, will provide around $40 million in support to communities in northwestern New Mexico, including the Navajo Nation.
To date, however, TEP has not committed a single dime of support to communities where the company’s coal plants are located. Nor has it made any agreements to site replacement clean energy projects on tribal land. The company says it is waiting for regulatory proceedings at the Arizona Corporation Commission to play out, but that has not stopped utilities like APS and SRP from making Just Transition commitments.
“It’s past time for Fortis and TEP to rectify this ongoing injustice,” said Rhys Maddigan of Social Justice Co-op NL. “Social, racial, and economic justice have no borders, and we are proud to stand in solidarity today to urge Fortis and TEP to fund a Just and Equitable Transition immediately. We cannot leave behind those who’ve sacrificed so much in the name of progress and corporate bottom lines.”
Photos from the rally are available for download at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9t79955094e2xho/AADzJuh6uYGOuN5GnAV-pBF1a?dl=0
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About Social Justice Co-operative NL: https://www.sjcnl.ca
About Tó Nizhóni Ání: https://tonizhoniani.org
About Empowered Transition initiative: https://www.empoweredtransition.org
For more information, a report from the Empowered Transition initiative highlights the many hardships facing northern Arizona communities and urges immediate action from TEP to provide much-needed and long overdue support, which is the company’s ethical, corporate and moral responsibility