As states across our region take action to build a 100% clean, local, and renewable energy future, our region’s electricity-grid operator, the Independent System Operator for New England, or ISO-NE, is keeping us hooked on polluting, expensive fossil fuels.

Over and over, ISO-NE chooses fracked gas over clean, sustainable energy sources, such as wind, solar, and battery storage, to “keep the lights on.” It thwarts state efforts to reach our mandated clean-energy goals. ISO-NE’s regressive actions include extending the life of the most polluting power plants, such as the coal-fired Merrimack Generating Station in Bow, NH, and the gas-powered Mystic Generating Station in Everett, MA, and proposing a new gas and oil fueled peaker plant in Peabody, MA. The result is that communities of color, Indigenous peoples, and the poor bear an unjust burden of the pollution these electricity sources create.

We need a grid operator that is as visionary, and hungry for change, as the communities bearing the brunt of our dirty energy sources and climate change. We demand that ISO-NE work with states and communities to build a just, transparent, and democratic energy grid that

• Stops propping up dirty-energy electrical generation sources for use in the Northeast
• Transitions to 100% renewable energy through conservation, demand reduction, electrification, and expansion of clean, local, safe renewable energy sources
• Encourages small-scale and decentralized energy production and storage that protects our air, water, soil, forests, environment, and communities
• Is governed transparently and democratically with community input on infrastructure siting
• Is affordable and accessible for all.

We deserve an energy grid that is responsive to the needs of ratepayers and the people living with climate catastrophe and pollution, not fossil fuel executives and utilities.

Subcommittees – goals, members, structures

Full Fix the Grid group

• What: 
• • Shares updates on progress
  • Identifies opportunities for action
  • Increases regional collaboration
  • Informs committee next steps
• When: monthly on Monday at 2pm
• Who: everyone who is part of the Fix the Grid campaign (including any of the subcommittees)
• Email:
  • fix-the-grid@googlegroups.com (content moderated by Mireille to avoid high traffic; for announcements)
  • Core list: ftg-core@googlegroups.com (no moderation; for more discussion)

Education and Action Committee

• What:
  • Plans informational events such as webinars to educate the public on the grid; 
  • Turns distilled technical information into accessible materials such as infographics, videos, action toolkits, and social media content; 
  • Gives presentations about the grid to other groups;
  • Activates the Fix the Grid base when action is required.
• When: Mondays at 3pm (first Monday)
• Who: Marya Axner, David Heimann, Monte Pearson, Eve Lukens-Day, Regine Spector, Mireille Bejjani, Halsey Snow, Sue Donaldson
• Email: ftg-education@googlegroups.com 

Movement Building Committee

• What:
  • Builds new connections with organizations, community groups, industry leaders, and experts working on the energy transition in the region;
  • Recruits new members to join the Fix the Grid campaign and orients them to the effort;
  • Prioritizes relationships with frontline communities and stakeholders in states outside of Massachusetts.
• When: Fridays at 1pm (monthly)
• Who: Roger Stephenson, Susan Theberge, John Walkey, Mireille Bejjani

Technical Committee (Study Group)

• What:
  • Analyzes, discusses, and digests technical reports and information released by ISO-NE, NEPOOL, NESCOE, and other sources;
  • Provides distilled, easy to understand summaries to the rest of the campaign team;
  • Informs and updates the detailed power-mapping of relevant stakeholders and decision-makers.
• When: First Friday of the month 11:30am-1pm
• Who: Regine Spector, Ian McDonald, Kent Wittenburg, Bob Persons, Roy Harvey, Paul Popinchalk, Steven Botkin, David Heimann, Marya Axner, Ada Statler, Christine Powell, Eve Vogel, Lilly Worthley
• Email: ftg-technical@googlegroups.com 

Campaign Strategy Committee

• What:
  • Drafts, updates, and maintains long term campaign strategy for Fix the Grid to achieve the energy system we want;
  • Ensures that what is most strategic is centered in committee work, staying grounding in what we’re trying to build;
  • Integrates shorter-term actions with longer-term vision for power building and tangible progress.
• When: Wednesdays at 11:30am (second Wednesday)
• Who: Steven Botkin, Logan Malik, Mireille Bejjani, Kelt Wilska, Ada Statler, Christine Powell, Lilly Worthley, Sue Donaldson
• Email: ftg-strategy@googlegroups.com 

Digital Presence Committee

• What:
  • Updates and maintains Fix the Grid website
  • Posts to the Fix the Grid Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages
• When: Mondays at 11am (monthly)

Who: Sudi Smoller, Ron Smoller, Ken McDonnell, Kent Wittenburg