Growing Number of Concerned Customers Converge on KUB Board Meeting to Deliver Over 2,500 #FreezeTheFees Petitions
CONCERNED AND SUFFERING CITIZENS HAVE ONE MESSAGE: FREEZE THE FEES!
Knoxville, Tenn. – Last month, customers delivered over 800 petitions protesting high fixed fees on monthly power bills to the Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB) at their monthly board meeting. Since then, the amount of signed petitions has more than tripled, with the total now over 2,500 petitions and growing.
“You know what else has tripled? The monthly electric fee that KUB customers are paying every month before they even turn on a light!” said Knoxville resident and senior citizen Kent Minault. “The electric fees have been quietly increased over past few years and are currently at $19 every month – $228 a year. Since this #FreezeTheFees campaign began, the stories we have heard from customers about their struggles to pay these high charges have been heart breaking. We will be returning to the KUB board meeting again tomorrow and hope that the executives and KUB Board will be responsive to their customers and commit to freezing the electric fee increases. They need to understand that high fixed fees are simply a bad practice and hurting their community.”
Media Availability: Starting at 11:30am, a growing group of concerned citizens including students, seniors, families, and small business owners along with representatives from Southern Alliance for Clean Energy will be available for comment before and after the board meeting in the front lobby.
Visuals: Concerned customers will deliver a stack of more than 1700+ petitions to the KUB board building in addition to the over 800 delivered at last month’s meeting. We expect more KUB customers than normal to attend this board meeting. Petition supporters may be identified by #FreezeTheFees buttons. Several supporters will directly address the board during the public comment session.
Where: Knoxville Utilities Board, 445 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN
When: Board meeting to begin at noon, Thursday, February 21, 2019. Group will gather in the front lobby by 11:30 AM.