Steps you can take to promote ARTs/ SOCs in your community
The March 21st, 2006 announcement of Standard Offer Contracts achieved a new milestone for renewable energy policy in Ontario. However, many improvements and much work remains to be done to ensure a successful program. It is critical that over the next six months your local decision-makers are kept up-to-date on SOCs and aware of their important role in Ontario's energy future.
Here are some steps you can take:
- Contact your MPP, request a meeting by phone and/or letter.
- At the meeting, provide your MPP with a one pager on Standard Offer Contracts and a 1 pager about your organization/project
- Provide a presentation/briefing of key points and opportunities of SOCs and community power, using your project to put community power in a local context
- Request that your MPP support SOCs and community power
- Write a follow up letter thanking your MPP in writing for their support, send copies to the Premier and the Minister of Energy
- Provide sample letters to your members to send to your MPP requesting their support for SOCs and Community Power
- Request that other leaders in your community support SOCs and Community Power. Ask them to send letters of support to your MPP.
Write a letter to your MPP or other government representative
Links to contact information below:
Click here to find your MPPs contact information
Click here for contact information for the Ministry of Energy
Click here for contact information for the Ministry of the Environment
Click here for contact information for the Ministry Agriculture
Click here for contact information for the Premier of Ontario
Sample letters
When you write your own letter, feel free to use these and to add your own comments.
Letter to Minister of Energy Dwight Duncan (Summer 2005)
Letter to Minister of Energy (Fall 2004)
Letter to MPP (Spring 2005)
Comments you may want to include are:
- potential economic benefits to your local community
- need for an easily understandable policy through which everybody can help eliminate Ontario's Energy Problems.
- ARTs/ SOCs is a very inexpensive way to increase renewable energy generation, both for the government and ratepayers.
- ARTs/ SOCs have already been successfully applied in many countries, notably those with the most and fastest growing renewable energy industries.
- ARTs/ SOCs have been the single most sucessfull instrument to promote renewable energy to date.
- ARTs/ SOCs provide a basis for long-term investments, encouraging the development of related industries such as manufacturing and service providers.
- ARTs/ SOCs will help Canada meet it's Kyoto target
- ARTs/ SOCs create acceptance for renewable energy in the local community
You can find resources and tips for writing your representative on the web site of the David Suzuki Foundation
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