Briana Leone's March Media Brief Staff Picks

The way the articles subsequently linked have been collected involve a series of both serendipitous and purposeful searches. The Climate Change and Energy Visualization data were serendipitous discoveries, found as I was reviewing weekly news updates and scrolling through Twitter, respectively. The third artifact retrieved for this month’s media brief is with regards to Philadelphia’s Water Department policy and moratorium updates. Contrary to the retrieval process for the other two artifacts, the artifact on updates from the Water Department was purposeful and was used to prepare for participant observation conducted by The Energy Rights group on Philadelphia’s Water Rate Increase hearings held in Mid-March. 

    In consistent discussions of climate change and vulnerability of energy infrastructures, the article on climate change and impacts felt on the grid deals specifically with the kinds of vulnerability US electric customers face with the ongoing violent weather disruptions linked to climate change (wildfires, cold fronts, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.). With an already fragile grid, customers face serious repercussions in terms of energy supply and security. The energy visualization data created by a UK institute brings in several discussions related to energy justice, including a discussions of California’s electric grid vulnerabilities to heat (which ties back to the climate change and electric grids article discussions), fuel poverty (referred to as energy poverty in the United States) rates in the United Kingdom, global warming challenges in West Africa, coal production in Europe, and other energy justice and energy transition-related discussions. The last article on the Philadelphia Water Department’s update discusses changes to the utility’s service rate increase, as well as their plan to extend the disconnection moratorium to April of 2022. The article also provides brief explanations on what customers can do to protect themselves from being disconnected, including enrolling in payment plans or taking advantage of the Department’s Tiered Assistance Program and other discount programs.