COUNCIL SUSTAINABILITY
COMMITTEE MEETING
MONDAY, September 16, 2024
DOCUMENTS
RECEIVED AFTER
PUBLISHED AGENDA
Official Public Comment
Hello members of the Hayward Sustainability Committee,
My name is , and I’m an Energy Democracy Organizer with the Local Clean Energy Alliance. I want to speak about the Hayward Equitable Electrification Collaborative, a partnership between Cal State East Bay, the Local Clean Energy Alliance, and the City of Hayward Environmental Services Department. From January 2024 to April 2024, the Local Clean Energy Alliance worked with the City of Hayward on engaging Spanish-speaking Hayward residents on electrification. While it is widely known that the city of Hayward is moving toward electrification, our research revealed that most residents do not receive adequate information about this transition.
They typically rely on PG&E for information when receiving their monthly utility bills.
Additionally, those who find information face language barriers, as most pamphlets or flyers are only available in English. This poses a significant challenge for non-English speaking residents, making it difficult for them to access the information and resources necessary to support them in this transition. Furthermore, a majority of the surveyed community members are renters, which adds an extra layer of complexity to the situation. Although our focus group participants expressed interest and positivity towards a shift to electrification, they were often restricted by property management or landlords. Most of these community members lack awareness of their rights as tenants.
They are afraid to speak up or seek information due to fear of eviction or rent increases.
Our goal is to work with the Environmental Services Department to continue outreach and find effective and tailored solutions that cater to the specific needs of the community members.
We also wanted to make the Sustainability Committee aware that Board of Directors of Ava Community Energy will be voting on whether to take nuclear power from PG&E this Wednesday, September 18th. Local Clean Energy Alliance, along with a group of community members, will be speaking in opposition to Ava taking this power.
Thank you.