Press Releases

Chispa Statement on SRP Public Comment Hearing in Glendale

Jan 8, 2015

PHOENIX, AZ – Chispa Program Director Pedro Lopez issued the following statement on SRP, Arizona’s largest public power utility, excluding Latino community from participation in today’s public hearing in Glendale about their proposed rate increase and tax on rooftop solar:

“The Latino community should have a voice in the decisions that affect our health, pocketbook, and our children’s future. Latinos represents more than a third of SRP’s customer base, but the utility has made little effort to include us in today’s public meetings. This proposal to increase rates and service charges across the board would hurt Latino families just to fund a $1 billion gas plant that would do nothing to reduce pollution. It’s time for SRP to start investing more in clean energy that’s good for our economy, our health, and Latino families.”

Chispa will hold a number of events and community forums in the coming weeks, which will be posted online at facebook.com/ChispaAZ. LCV has also released a poll (English | Spanish) conducted by the Benenson Strategy Group showing that 88% of Hispanics in Arizona are concerned about pollution, and 67% of Hispanics in Arizona recognize their utility’s behavior is part of the problem. An astounding 90% of Hispanics in Arizona support utility companies using more clean energy, with 63% strongly supporting that.

Chispa, which means “spark” in Spanish, is a groundbreaking new effort by the League of Conservation Voters to engage Arizona’s growing Latino community in fighting to clean up Maricopa County’s poor air quality and to boost the state’s clean energy economy. 

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