As the press conference concluded, we split off into advocacy teams, each focused on a different priority topic. In the spirit of the ‘Our Power, Our Planet’ theme for Earth Day, I naturally chose to join the advocacy team focused on energy topics. With about 20 members on the team, our remarkable group size would be sure to catch the attention of the council members and their staff that we would meet today.

As the energy team, our advocacy was primarily focused on the Sustainable Energy Trust Fund (SETF), which is paid for as a fee on every DC resident’s electric bills and provides the funding for beneficial programs such as:

• Healthy Homes Act, which ensures that low-income families aren’t forced to choose between living in a healthy environment and paying for expensive home repairs and appliance replacements.
• DC Sustainable Energy Utility (DCSEU), which helps residents and businesses cut energy costs through efficiency upgrades.
• Affordable Housing Retrofit Accelerator, which improves energy performance in affordable multifamily housing, helping to reduce utility and housing costs.
• DC Green Bank, which helps DC businesses and community institutions invest in solar power, energy-efficient buildings, sustainable transportation, and stormwater resilience.
• Workforce development programs that prepare DC residents for well-paying green jobs.

The proposed budget would divert about $70.1 million (not including $18 million in lost federal matching funds), or about three quarters of the entire fund away from its intended purposes to be used elsewhere, such as paying the city’s own electric bills; however, the fee charged to residents would not decrease. Instead of the fund covering expenses for residents, the residents would be covering the city’s expenses instead!

Additionally, we fought to preserve laws that ensure that the city’s future will be built on a sustainable foundation, such as the Building Energy Performance Standard, Greener Government Buildings Act, and Clean Energy DC Building Code Act, all of which ensure that DC’s built environment respects nature and climate. We also worked to safeguard the Solar For All program, which only just last year on Earth Day, the city announced an expansion to serve an additional 19,000 households; today, its future is now uncertain.

With our talking points and strategy now set, we headed into the ornate marble halls of the Wilson Building to meet with the City Council and make our voices heard. The day started with a hallway meeting with Councilmember Parker’s staff, during which we called for the preservation of the SETF, emphasizing how the Healthy Homes Act provides vital protection from the worst forms of indoor air pollution to populations who are most at risk. We then headed to Ward 7 Councilmember Wendell Felder’s office, where Allison Ewing—a member of our advocacy team and a Ward 7 resident—shared how access to solar power was a transformative opportunity for her family. “Last summer, we decided to [install solar panels] at no cost of our own. Previously, because we are a multigenerational family, we have kind of a big house. Our utility bills could be, at the worst, they were like $600 a month but once we got the solar panels installed, our utility bills have gone down to like $16 a month, and we get refunds. So that’s been wonderful. Some of our neighbors have been able to also go solar, and that’s been exciting.” Allison’s story made a real impact on the councilmember, who represents a district in DC which has historically been economically disadvantaged; Councilmember Felder made clear that our advocacy was heard and that he understands the opportunity renewable energy poses to improve the lives of everyday people. The day continued at a swift pace, moving from office to office taking meetings with anyone who had an available staffer to lend us an ear.