{"id":509,"date":"2018-09-13T14:07:30","date_gmt":"2018-09-13T14:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/?p=509"},"modified":"2022-09-16T15:30:54","modified_gmt":"2022-09-16T15:30:54","slug":"electric-ratepayers-efficiency-employers-environmental-organizations-continue-push-to-restore-efficiency-clean-energy-funds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/2018\/09\/13\/electric-ratepayers-efficiency-employers-environmental-organizations-continue-push-to-restore-efficiency-clean-energy-funds\/","title":{"rendered":"Electric ratepayers, efficiency employers, environmental organizations continue push to restore efficiency, clean energy funds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Immediate Release<\/span> &#8211;&nbsp;<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">September 13, 2018&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contacts:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leticia Colon de Mejias (Plaintiff), <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">860-690-5522<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mike Trahan, Solar Connecticut, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">860-256-1698<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>New Haven, Conn.<\/strong> \u2013 <\/span>The lawsuit to restore $145 million in Energy Efficiency and Clean Energy funds continued to move swiftly through the U.S. District Court system today as attorneys for the Plaintiffs and Defendants presented their cases in oral arguments before a full courtroom and Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Energy efficiency businesses, clean energy businesses, environmental nonprofits, and utility ratepayer organizations filed a federal lawsuit on May 15 2018 to repeal the legislative sweep of Connecticut\u2019s energy efficiency and clean energy plan funds, and to prevent future diversions of ratepayer funds. The suit argues that using ratepayer funding for other than its intended purpose violates the Contracts Clause of the United States Constitution and functions as an illegal tax on tax-exempt organizations. The original complaint may be read <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/icm-tracking.meltwater.com\/link.php?DynEngagement=true&amp;H=I%2BqMhXDuIS2RujNbavWSOKShOr7Ezi73JeGvxlkJ09Qb0kDpZZQFeDqOSaJThm4clmYJvy7DiPuXic4EZOhupLz0Q%2FeMPrYvrV8feuzds7haLYrAt9BxfPSyhVgs7qqY&amp;G=0&amp;R=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ctenvironment.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F05%2FFINAL-complaint-filed-5-15-18.pdf&amp;I=20180913171715.00000010a167%40mail6-46-ussnn1&amp;X=MHwxMDQ2NzU4OjViOWE5YjkxNmVkNmNlOTBjODc3OGM4Zjs%3D&amp;S=GAtrtjMfgCmDKjhRxHA1GxbcpdzbriQHTbzMVSKveAA\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe case has been heard and the decision is in the hands of a well-respected judge. I have faith that she will side with the People here in the court and in our state.,\u201d <\/span><b>said lead plaintiff Leticia Colon de Mejias, chair of Efficiency For All (EFA) and founder\/owner of Energy Efficiencies Solutions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u201cEven in these difficult times, it is obvious that stealing ratepayer funds intended to help Connecticut residents and businesses reduce energy waste and use cleaner resources is a bad choice. No matter your political party, Efficiency is Efficient. Leaders need to be proactive about our energy plan, our environment, and our economic future. Join us and Take Action. Send a message to your legislators and those who are running for office in November. Let them know that Connecticut cares about our energy plan, our health, our local jobs, and our economy. Efficiency and renewable resources are the future. Take a stand for our future and tell our leaders to stop stealing the funds that support our path forward to a clean efficient stable energy plan!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOur goal with this lawsuit remains to remedy the damage done to Connecticut\u2019s families and businesses who trusted that their ratepayer dollars would go towards energy efficiency and clean energy programs that save money and reduce climate pollution,\u201d <\/span><b>said Roger Reynolds, chief legal director at Connecticut Fund for the Environment, which is a plaintiff in the case<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u201cWe are gratified the court has <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">put this case on a remarkably expedited schedule<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> so far, and hope for a speedy decision on the merits of the case.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">In additio<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">n to Colon de Mejias and CFE, plaintiffs in the suit are New Haven-based Fight the Hike; Energy Efficiencies Solutions, LLC; Best Home Performance of CT, LLC; Connecticut Citizen Action Group; New England Smart Energy Group, LLC; CT Weatherproof Insulation, LLC; Steven C. Osuch of East Windsor; Jonathan Casiano of Windsor; and Bright Solutions, LLC. The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys from the firms of Holland &amp; Knight in New York City and Hartford-based Feiner Wolfson. Defendants are the Governor, Treasurer, and Comptroller of the State of Connecticut.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">#<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">##<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Background:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ctenvironment.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Memo-of-Law-in-Support-of-MSJ-v7-FINAL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">July 20 Motion for Summary Judgment<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ctenvironment.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/FINAL-complaint-filed-5-15-18.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">May 15 Complaint<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ctenvironment.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/2018-05-15-EE-CE-funds-lawsuit-filing.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Press release on filing of lawsuit<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ctenvironment.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2018.06.13_Energy-Efficiency-v-Connecticut-overview-formatted.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Summary of case and background<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr>\n<div><strong>Additional News Articles:<\/strong><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhregister.com\/business\/article\/Plaintiffs-hope-for-quick-decision-in-Connecticut-13228076.php\">https:\/\/www.nhregister.com\/business\/article\/Plaintiffs-hope-for-quick-decision-in-Connecticut-13228076.php<\/a>&nbsp; &nbsp;<strong>New Haven Register<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theday.com\/local-news\/20180913\/legal-battle-brews-over-2017-clean-energy-funding-sweeps\">https:\/\/www.theday.com\/local-news\/20180913\/legal-battle-brews-over-2017-clean-energy-funding-sweeps<\/a>&nbsp; <strong>theday<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ctpost.com\/business\/article\/Briefs-filed-in-lawsuit-challenging-legislative-13098634.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=https:\/\/www.ctpost.com\/business\/article\/Briefs-filed-in-lawsuit-challenging-legislative-13098634.php&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1532712970964000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEv-uGnymjUVDsmvRla15P5n0VGtw\">https:\/\/www.ctpost.com\/<wbr>business\/article\/Briefs-filed-<wbr>in-lawsuit-challenging-<wbr>legislative-13098634.php<\/a>,<strong>&nbsp;CT Post<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https:\/\/eur04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.google.com%252Furl%253Frct%253Dj%2526sa%253Dt%2526url%253Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.nhregister.com%252Fbusiness%252Farticle%252FBriefs-filed-in-lawsuit-challenging-legislative-13098634.php%2526ct%253Dga%2526cd%253DCAEYACoTMjQyOTcyMDkxOTE2MzQzNzgyNjIaM2E2NmE0OWE2ZDc5OThmZTpjb206ZW46VVM%2526usg%253DAFQjCNFcbd68kZNQcj6ei4PUzNAC4gGlAA&amp;data=02%257C01%257C%257C815aed24374f4a15b33508d5f128d9ae%257C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%257C1%257C0%257C636680080102690182&amp;sdata=0mbcG1S3qZpJWF73V9cdh7uApQeUsPwyP9uFKkBlf5I%253D&amp;reserved=0&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7Cec092eca006e44d3149308d5f1618360%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636680323465857978&amp;sdata=ZsVmOdQvfASn5n3eWTzY20Q+egEdoqrlPxWblW3qE5I=&amp;reserved=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=https:\/\/nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url%3Dhttps:\/\/eur04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url%3Dhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.google.com%25252Furl%25253Frct%25253Dj%252526sa%25253Dt%252526url%25253Dhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.nhregister.com%25252Fbusiness%25252Farticle%25252FBriefs-filed-in-lawsuit-challenging-legislative-13098634.php%252526ct%25253Dga%252526cd%25253DCAEYACoTMjQyOTcyMDkxOTE2MzQzNzgyNjIaM2E2NmE0OWE2ZDc5OThmZTpjb206ZW46VVM%252526usg%25253DAFQjCNFcbd68kZNQcj6ei4PUzNAC4gGlAA%26data%3D02%25257C01%25257C%25257C815aed24374f4a15b33508d5f128d9ae%25257C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%25257C1%25257C0%25257C636680080102690182%26sdata%3D0mbcG1S3qZpJWF73V9cdh7uApQeUsPwyP9uFKkBlf5I%25253D%26reserved%3D0%26data%3D02%257C01%257C%257Cec092eca006e44d3149308d5f1618360%257C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%257C1%257C0%257C636680323465857978%26sdata%3DZsVmOdQvfASn5n3eWTzY20Q%2BegEdoqrlPxWblW3qE5I%3D%26reserved%3D0&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1532712970964000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFbHLylpQw1RZ3LdtowbxBBGrv8xA\">Briefs filed in lawsuit challenging legislative raid on Connecticut energy efficiency funds<\/a>,&nbsp;<strong>New Haven Register<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.courant.com\/politics\/hc-news-energy-fund-sweep-lawsuit-20180723-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=http:\/\/www.courant.com\/politics\/hc-news-energy-fund-sweep-lawsuit-20180723-story.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1532712970964000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHvpb6OIgd2qXbaQOzWhSkAhuIPvA\">http:\/\/www.courant.com\/<wbr>politics\/hc-news-energy-fund-<wbr>sweep-lawsuit-20180723-story.<wbr>html<\/a>,&nbsp;<strong>Hartford Courant<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/connecticut-is-drowning-in-debt-should-its-neighbors-have-to-pay\/2018\/07\/23\/eff14b6a-83be-11e8-8589-5bb6b89e3772_story.html?utm_term=.9b4b795788ab\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/connecticut-is-drowning-in-debt-should-its-neighbors-have-to-pay\/2018\/07\/23\/eff14b6a-83be-11e8-8589-5bb6b89e3772_story.html?utm_term%3D.9b4b795788ab&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1532712970964000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGGPUNErU3Nei7NGW9yo67SZa0xxQ\">https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.<wbr>com\/opinions\/connecticut-is-<wbr>drowning-in-debt-should-its-<wbr>neighbors-have-to-pay\/2018\/07\/<wbr>23\/eff14b6a-83be-11e8-8589-<wbr>5bb6b89e3772_story.html?utm_<wbr>term=.9b4b795788ab<\/a>,&nbsp;Washington Post<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wnpr.org\/post\/court-challenge-continues-last-minute-efficiency-fund-cuts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=http:\/\/www.wnpr.org\/post\/court-challenge-continues-last-minute-efficiency-fund-cuts&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1532712970965000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHoQAQDrBIN5D8fWP8caL19eo7L1w\">http:\/\/www.wnpr.org\/post\/<wbr>court-challenge-continues-<wbr>last-minute-efficiency-fund-<wbr>cuts<\/a>,&nbsp;<strong>WNPR<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-524\" src=\"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8087-169x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"169\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8087-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8087-768x1365.jpg 768w, https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8087-576x1024.jpg 576w, https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8087.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 169px) 100vw, 169px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-522\" src=\"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8086-169x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"169\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8086-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8086-768x1365.jpg 768w, https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8086-576x1024.jpg 576w, https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8086.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 169px) 100vw, 169px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-521\" src=\"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8084-1-277x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"277\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8084-1-277x300.jpg 277w, https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8084-1-768x833.jpg 768w, https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8084-1-944x1024.jpg 944w, https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8084-1.jpg 1344w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 277px) 100vw, 277px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-519\" src=\"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8081-300x242.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"242\" srcset=\"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8081-300x242.jpg 300w, https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8081-768x619.jpg 768w, https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8081-1024x825.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8081.jpg 2010w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-517\" src=\"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8072_1-232x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"232\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8072_1-232x300.jpg 232w, https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8072_1-768x994.jpg 768w, https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8072_1-791x1024.jpg 791w, https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/IMG_8072_1.jpg 1275w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 232px) 100vw, 232px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Immediate Release &#8211;&nbsp;September 13, 2018&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Contacts: Leticia Colon de Mejias (Plaintiff), 860-690-5522 Mike Trahan, Solar Connecticut, 860-256-1698 New Haven, Conn. \u2013 The lawsuit to restore $145 million in Energy Efficiency and Clean Energy funds continued &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/2018\/09\/13\/electric-ratepayers-efficiency-employers-environmental-organizations-continue-push-to-restore-efficiency-clean-energy-funds\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Electric ratepayers, efficiency employers, environmental organizations continue push to restore efficiency, clean energy funds&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":576,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=509"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1347,"href":"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509\/revisions\/1347"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/efficiencyforall.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}