November 2020 Media Brief

The Energy in COVID-19 monthly research briefs collect the latest news read by our working group members. The overall aim of the briefs is to showcase how disasters can shore up policy changes, particularly around economic crises.

Summary

The articles collected in the November research brief discuss dimensions of energy systems covered in the news. Past research briefs, released as the pandemic emerged and persisted, demonstrate a continuity in public discourse discussions of utility insecurity. The current research brief also showcases artifacts on utility hardships experienced across the nation’s communities, demonstrating the continued socio-economic distress the COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted. This research brief presents a community-funded utilities fund flyer, accompanied by commentary; an article on families in the United States facing utility shutoffs, and another article focused on price increases from Comcast-Xfinity. This research brief also presents several articles that discuss recent energy policies and changes to existing policy, as well as analytic discussions on the benefits of green energy transitions. Overall, the focus of the the articles rests in discussions of pandemic hardship and related assistance,  green energy policies, and the benefits of the transitions to green energy. The information presented ahead can also be interpreted through the analyses on clean energy done by Hickel (2019), Howe (2019), Boyer (2019), and Dagget (2020), analyses held in the ‘Further Reading’ section.

Thumbnail Image Source: Maykuth, A. (2020, Dec. 7). "Court ruling throws Pennsylvania smart-meter plan into turmoil." The Philadelphia Inquirer. https://www.inquirer.com/business/peco-puc-pennsylvania-commonwealth-cou...