Every month, money leaves the house for electricity, heat, and gas, and every month it's simply gone. Paul Fenn calls that energy rent, and it costs about $70,000 per decade for an average NYSEG household.

Fenn is the founder and president of Local Power, the consultancy Bloomberg once called the utility industry's number one enemy. He now administers the municipality of Ithaca's two energy pilot programs. One is the CCA, which buys electricity and gas in bulk for the whole municipality and is currently paused pending state regulators. The other is Own Your Power, which is open to renters as well as owners.

Own Your Power helps participants design and buy energy systems on their own site or block: rooftop solar, heat pumps, hot water, storage, and a two-way EV charger that works as a battery, all run as one asset. This pilot takes on the soft costs of paperwork and design that can otherwise make these complete energy system solutions unaffordable.

In this episode:

• Why deregulation and LNG exports left New York households exposed to global gas prices
• CCA versus Own Your Power: opt-out bulk buying (paused) versus opt-in ownership (running now)
• How renters participate: modular equipment you can take with you, shares in a neighbor's system, buy-in written into a lease
• Co-op, trust, or go it alone: three ways to own a system, including one with no meetings

In or around Ithaca? Sign up at tompkins-gen.com. Anywhere else, CCA law already exists in about half the U.S., and Local Power works with communities in both halves.

Contact

• Own Your Power / T-GEN sign-up: https://www.tompkins-gen.com
• Local Power: https://localpower.com

Resources & Links

• City of Ithaca Green New Deal: https://www.cityofithacany.gov/827/Green-New-Deal
• Ithaca Local Economy Lab: https://ithacalocaleconomylab.com

The Practically Real Team:

• Jake Gribschaw - Technical Advisor https://www.linkedin.com/in/jgribschaw
• Stacey Cornelius - Associate Producer https://agencyofwords.com
• Sonia Simone - Content Strategist https://remarkable-communication.com
• Erin O'Shaughnessy - Creative Consultant https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/erin-o-shaughnessy-depoe-bay-or/373808
• Yen Ospina - Artist http://yenospina.com
• Carsie Blanton - Musician http://carsieblanton.com
• Photography by Forest Floor Creatives https://forestfloorcreatives.com

Produced by Practically Real Enterprises, LLC. Hosted by Dia.