Photo by Spencer DeMera on Unsplash

We all remember when Texas’s power grid failed during a freak snowstorm in 2021, leaving 4.5 million homes and businesses without power for days amid record-breaking low temperatures.

Unfortunately, science indicates that extreme weather events will likely become more frequent. Coupled with an erratic executive branch at the helm in Washington, the onus is on localities to ensure that they are adequately prepared for catastrophic events.

You guessed it: I’m not done speaking to this “fend-for-yourself-federalism” moment we find ourselves in because I don’t believe we can rely on the cavalry from Washington to save us in a crisis.

That’s why local action is critical. Now more than ever, securing constituents’ essential needs means prioritizing local resilience, with energy security as a fundamental component.

There are sensible, practical ways to build that security. And then there are approaches that unfairly burden consumers.  Earlier this month, for example, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe quietly signed a bill that will allow power companies to charge their customers for the cost of building new power-generating facilities—even before they produce any power. This effectively allows utilities to shift financial risk onto consumers.

The legislation Kehoe signed was a competitor to House and Senate bills that aimed to increase market competition and mandate more transparency in billing rates. The Missouri chapter of the Sierra Club referred to the victorious legislation as “Bond-villain-level evil.”

Across the country in the New York City region, Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and six House colleagues are raising alarm over proposed double-digit hikes of electric and natural gas rates, urging the state Department of Public Service to reject the utility’s proposal.

As what is going on in Missouri and New York shows, localities should not count on their state governments to ensure that utilities reliably serve their residents. Here are a few proactive measures worth exploring by local governments:

Make the transition to a community-owned system.

For a locality with the financial and long-term planning resources, this is the most bulletproof way to make sure that the public sector, along with the constituents it serves, have a meaningful say in the operation of their utilities.

But there’s a big rub. It is an incredibly complex process, one that will likely take years and encounter powerful opposition. “Investor owned utilities don’t give up these assets easily,” since they earn returns on the pipes and wires that distribute these essential services, says Janice Beecher, director emeritus of Michigan State University’s Institute of Public Utilities.

Case in point: Frustrated with their electric utility’s slow march toward renewable energy, in 2010 Boulder, Colorado, launched an effort to create a locally owned utility. However, in 2020, after a decade of lobbying and the expenditure of millions of taxpayer dollars, the city abandoned the effort.

But it isn’t impossible. The American Public Power Association reports that about 2,000 cities and towns are powered by community-owned utilities. It’s especially popular across California, Massachusetts, and Florida, where it isn’t uncommon for small towns and mid-sized cities to own their electric utilities.

Tucson, Arizona, a city of more than half a million, is currently exploring the option. City officials have their work cut out for them: A study found it will cost at least $820 million to buy out part of the distribution system from the city’s current provider.

Expand micro-grids.

If a prolonged dispute with your utility provider isn’t appealing, there are other ways to have more say in how energy is managed.

First, determine whether any microgrids exist in your region, and if so, where they are located.

A microgrid is a small, self-contained energy system operating independently of or alongside the main power grid. It usually includes local energy generation (such as solar panels), battery systems for storage, and control systems that keep the lights on even when the larger grid goes down. Hospitals, universities, and city service centers often run on their own microgrids.

If there’s a particular area that could be vulnerable during a storm or natural disaster or if there is a large facility providing critical services, consider placing them on a microgrid. “It won’t necessarily help you with energy transformation, but it will help you when extreme weather happens,” says Lauren Azar, an attorney specializing in utilities and former senior advisor to the U.S. secretary of energy.

Explore local aggregation.

Municipal aggregation can save residents money and allow for bulk purchasing of clean energy. It operates like this: a local government purchases electricity in bulk for its residents and small businesses, rather than having individual residents buy directly from a utility company.

Residents of Akron, Ohio, have been enjoying aggregate utility prices since the early 2000s under an opt-out program in which residents are automatically enrolled unless they choose otherwise. “Akron had four years at under 5 cents per kilowatt hour—significantly below market,” notes Tom Smith, Akron’s public utilities commissioner.

Of course, aggregated systems are still subject to market forces. Akron’s prices recently jumped to over 9 cents per kWh—still competitive but a shock to residents, prompting the city to issue a press release warning residents and explaining the change.

Bone up on a federal regulation that increases your influence.

A new regulation from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission grants municipalities greater negotiation power with local energy providers. FERC Order 1920 requires power-transmission providers to factor state and local policies, such as decarbonization mandates and utility commitments, into longer-term planning.

Previously, utilities planned only for a few years out. To better identify long-term needs, FERC’s new rule mandates that a regional transmission plan spans 20 years.

This is a good time to get your plans on record: your local decarbonization goals, land-use policies, and projected energy demand should be communicated to your transmission provider.

And engage with your state public utility commission or governor’s energy office to influence the transmission planning and cost allocation processes. Don’t let your utility provider plan a 20-year grid without your input.

Get to know your local utility providers.

As mentioned before, public takeovers of private utilities are expensive and difficult. Familiarizing yourself with your local utility and other power players in your area could be the first step toward exercising what might be called “soft power.”

Start by building a working relationship with your utility to see how you can influence infrastructure investments, expand microgrids, or meet renewable energy goals. Call meetings, convene stakeholders, and apply political pressure. Utilities often respond—if they get even a whiff that you’re looking into other options for supplying your residents, they’ll be more likely to take a meeting and discuss your concerns.

“In Wisconsin, way back in the ’90s, we had a pretty critical electric industry problem,” Azar says, “and the governor just called the CEOs of each of the utilities and said, ‘fix this,’ and they did. The governor didn’t have any legal authority, but that is a perfect example of soft power.”

Utilities are the backbone of modern life, but to serve communities effectively they must prioritize public need, not just profit. As political winds shift, climate disruptions intensify, and energy markets grow more volatile, we’re reminded that resilience must be a locally powered exercise.