Empowered

Energy in America is undergoing a period of rapid change driven by new technologies consumer empowerment and the imperative to reduce emissions that cause global warming. But many utilities are dragging their feet or actively impeding progress. People who want to save energy or install solar panels are finding their efforts at odds with utilities seeking to preserve their profits. Seeing an existential threat to their business model utilities across the country are pursuing policy changes that will make it less viable for customers to generate their own electricity. Impatient with the slow pace of change an increasing number of cities are taking matters into their own hands as their citizens seek energy that is local affordable and clean. Empowered describes how city officials and activists in Boulder Minneapolis and Madison are fighting back against entrenched utilities and taking charge of their energy future.