Latest news with #MichaelBaggerman
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Metro Justice and allies rally at City Hall against RG&E Thursday
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — On Thursday, members of Metro Justice and the Rochester for Energy Democracy (RED) Campaign gathered at Rochester City Hall to rally against Rochester Gas & Electric. Organizers said the rally was held to call out the RG&E audit and the company's connection to the Chamber of Commerce. Metro Justice members said the audit shows dramatic security and compliance concerns, in addition to a lack of planning and leadership. Demonstrators said they want the City Council and Mayor Malik Evans' administration to use reserved funds to commission a Phase 1 study to replace RG&E with a public utility. Monroe County and the Mayor's Office have previously refused to commit to doing a study due to the cost. It was revealed on Thursday morning that RG&E has failed again to meet the requirements of customer service standards by the New York State Public Service Commission. They will now be required to pay a $9.8 million fine. News 8 spoke to both RG&E and Metro Justice at the rally on Thursday. 'This notion of government-controlled power would be terrible for the people of Rochester, it would result in exorbitant costs for things like property taxes. It would increase, I mean, the cost associated with buying out the infrastructure would be really difficult for people here in the city. It would take away vital services the city has,' Michael Baggerman, communications manager for RG&E said of Metro Justice's ask. 'The audit was honestly extremely shocking; it is even worse than we thought. There's all the things we knew about all of the like billing errors, the customer service, tjeu're cooking their books, but also a huge amount of negligence putting customers in danger with gas leaks, and cybersecurity, lack of cyber security, but also really that they don't actually even plan at the utility level,' said campaign and policy coordinator of Metro Justice, Dr. Michi Wenderlich. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Metro Justice calls for action from Rochester City Council to replace RG&E
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — Metro Justice is back — calling on Rochester City Council to consider the possibility of replacing RG&E with a government owned utility. A full house signed up to speak to councilmembers about a range of issues, including concerns about high utility bills and a lack of customer service. At one time, city leaders agreed to spend $500,000 to conduct a feasibility study on replacing RG&E, but it was contingent on the county's support and county leaders did not agree to fund it. Still, members of the social and economic justice organization 'Metro Justice' want the city to move forward with the study. RG&E maintains its a waste of time and money. 'We've seen Rochesterians continue to struggle with out of control bills and shut offs,' Metro Justice Campaign and Policy Coordinator. 'The shut offs tripled to over 13,000 last year. Rochester has the third highest energy burden in the country. There's a common sense solution: Do a study to investigate replacing RG&E.' 'This notion that we're not doing anything is a complete outright lie,' RG&E Communications Manager Michael Baggerman said. 'We're constantly investing in our infrastructure, whether its the physical grid or its the customer service infrastructure. This idea that we're just raising rates all willy nilly… it's not based in reality.' Baggerman goes onto say a public owned utility would cost taxpayers more money and reduce service. Metro Justice maintains its stance that a study is harmless, and Phase 1 is essentially already paid for by the city. Thursday, they delivered a letter urging city leaders to commission the study. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
