Table of Contents
PPGB Campaign Overview2
Talking Points on PPGB Campaign4
APPA Government Relations Staff Contacts5
Reaching Out to Members of Congress6
Section Overview7
“To Do” List9
Sample Letter to Members of Congress from Utility10
Suggestions on Communicating with Members of Congress12
Recruiting Business Customers16
Section Overview17
“To Do” List18
Sample Letter to Business Customers from Utility19
Sample Letter to Members of Congress from Business Customers21
Suggestions for Letter from Business Customer23
Building a Coalition24
Section Overview25
“To Do” List26
Sample Stump Speech27
Sample Proclamation30
Sample Letter to Members of Congress from Community Activist31
Educating the Media32
Section Overview33
“To Do” List34
Sample Guest Column35
Suggestions on Dealing with the Media37
Additional Resources38
Internet Resources39
Congressional Schedule40
Committee Membership Lists41
*A sample Power Point presentation and PPGB factsheets are available as separate files on this CD.
PPGB Campaign
This toolkit has been designed to enhance your current actities or to help you launch a local effort to promote how public power is good for business. We have included in the toolkit a variety of items that will help you communicate with your customers, your community, and your Members of Congress.
Although the toolkit contains a large amount of materials – it may seem overwhelming at first glance – we have designed a step by step plan to help you execute this program. Our campaign will last six months and in each of those months, we will ask you to conduct a few simple activities. By moving forward at that pace, our activities will gain momentum and help deliver our message effectively. Month after month, we will be remindingMembers of Congress how public power is good for business and important to local economies.
Throughout the campaign, we will be providing you with updates on our progress, and you will be given additional tools to help build a grassroots coalition dedicated to promoting how public power is good for business.
Month1 (July)
Contact your Members of Congress – Congress is in full swing at this time of the year, and both the House and Senate are sure to be considering legislation that impacts public power systems.
If you don’t already have a relationship with the staff members who handle issues related to public power for your Members of Congress, reach out to them to introduce yourself and discuss your utility’s role in the local business community and economy. If you already have a strong working relationship with congressional staff, check in with them to share your thoughts on how public power’s legislative agenda is progressing. Of course, making contact with congressional offices should be just the first step in building an long-term relationship with your Members of Congress and their staff. You should keep in touch on a regular basis once the initial contact has been made.
Congress will also be in recess the first week in July which presents an ideal time to schedule a meeting with your Representative or Senator while s/he is in the district/state.
Months 2 and 3 (August and September)
Reach out to your business customers –Public power systems know we enjoy strong support from commercial and industrial customers because we provide high quality service at reasonable rates and in a manner that protects and advances local community values. This campaign is about demonstrating that support to Members of Congress, and our satisfied customers are some of our best spokesmen in this campaign.
Reach out to customers with whom you have an especially good relationship. Remind them how your utility has gone the extra mile to help them in the past and now needs their assistance. Start by reaching out to your larger customers; these businesses are more likely to have a visible profile in the community and may already have apositive relationship with your Members of Congress.
You can continue your congressional outreach efforts while Congress is in recess and Members are most likely in the district/state for the month of August.
Months 4 and 5 (October and November)
Encourage community support - Building a coalition of community groups and activists requires creativity and perseverance on the part of the utility. Public power is a powerful economic development tool; therefore, a variety of groups and professions dependent on economic growth are natural allies in this campaign. Realtors, developers, and bankers are just a few who might not realize that their successes may be due, at least in part, to the presence of public power in your community. Consumer groups and advocates for low-income individuals are also prospective allies because of the low rates and responsive service our utilities offer.
Reach out to these groups by offering to speak at their next board and/or membership meeting. In your presentation, tell the group about public power, how it affects them and the local economy, and why we need their help in speaking out on behalf of public power. Try to schedule different kinds of civic groups, the PTA (school districts are often some of our largest customers), the Chamber of Commerce, the Lions Club, church groups, etc. It is important to get our message out to as many community members as possible and to recruit as many activists as possible.
Month6 (December)
Earn media coverage - Through the media, public power has the opportunity to reach the general public with its message. Media coverage will also reach your business customers, coalition partners, and Members of Congress and their staff. It is essential to reach out to the media to promote public power and work to ensure positive coverage of the utility, especially as it relates to this campaign.
We have included sample materials that may be tailored to your specific situation and submitted to your local newspaper. Remember to call and follow up to make sure the editors publish your submission. You may also print these materials in your utility newsletter to help your employees and customers understand the importance of this campaign.
These activities are crucial to our success. Please keep us updated about your utility’s activities, and give us feedback as to what works and what doesnot. Feel free to contact Courtney Hunter at 202/467-2934 or with any questions or comments.
Talking Points on “Public Power Is Good for Business”
These talking points should be used as a guide in all conversations about your utility. By using the same messages repeatedly, you can effectively and concisely communicate what makes public power different from other utilities and how it is good for business.
- Our utility is one of about 2,000 electric utilities across the country that are referred to as public power systems which are not-for-profit, hometown enterprises. (Insert utility name) is operated by our local government as a public service, with the mission to provide electricity in a business-like manner and at a reasonable cost.
- Public power is good for business and the local economy. We have a long history of working with this community to support businesses and to develop the economy.
- Our efforts to retain and attract businesses benefit the whole community, not just through additional power sales for the utility, but also from the creation and retention of jobs, and the overall expansion of our local economy and tax base.
- We offer low rates. Our not-for-profit rates hold down business costs, and are (percent) lower than those of (neighboring utility). Lower rates attract and keep businesses that provide jobs for our residents.
- We also help lower costs for our customers. We offer programs to help our customers use electricity more efficiently and hold down their monthly bills.
- Our utility is locally-owned and accountable to the residents of (name of community). Our customers have a direct say in the rates we charge, the policies that govern our operations, and the services we provide.
- We are reliable and responsive to the needs of the community. When it comes to service, our customers know we’re just down the street. And we have earned a track record of reliable service by keeping the power on and restoring it immediately in the case of outages.
- If applicable: Recently, we have also taken on additional stewardship for our community’s information infrastructure through a broadband network providing (Internet/cable/telephone, etc., services), expanding community and economic development opportunities.
- Our customers can be assured that we will continue to provide low-cost, reliable electricity (and broadband services) – and deliver it instantaneously, day or night. Their confidence makes us good for business and our local economy.
Government Relations Staff Contacts
Joe Nipper, Senior Vice President, Government Relations...... 202/467-2931
Joy Ditto, Director, Legislative Affairs...... 202/467-2954
Michael Brairton, Government Relations Representative...... 202/467-2928
Shauna larsen, Government Relations Representative...... 202/467-2929
Julie Walker, Government Relations Representative...... 202/467-2930
Desmarie Waterhouse, Government Relations Representative...... 202/467-2975
Courtney Hunter, Grassroots Coordinator...... 202/467-2934
Madalyn Cafruny,Director of Communications...... 202/467-2952
For more information about the “Public Power Is Good for Business” campaign, please contact Courtney Hunter at 202/467-2934 or . You can also access our website at to download materials contained in this notebook.
Reaching Out to Members of Congress
This campaign is designed to foster stronger relationships between you and your Senators and Representatives. The first phase in the campaign will concentrate on reaching out to Members of Congress to discuss public power and how your utility is good for business.
Reaching Out to Members of Congress
Lay a foundation
Before contacting congressional offices, educate everyone involved with your utility about the “Public Power Is Good for Business” campaign. Announce the campaign to your employees in the utility newsletter or through a utility-wide email. Include campaign updates in your staff meetings and monthly reports. Brief your local-elected officials and policy board members on the campaign and ask for their assistance. These groups can be powerful ambassadors, but first they must be familiar with the campaign.
First things first
The first outreach effort in this campaign will be to contact your Members of Congress via mail, email, or phone call to raise awareness of your utility and the important role it plays in your local business community. If you are not already in regular contact with the Member’s DC and district staff, this initial contact will help pave the way for our campaign.
Who do I call?
Your Member of Congress has staff members who handle a variety of issues for his office, so you need to identify which ones are assigned to handle issues concerning public power. For example, one staffer may handle telecommunications, while another handles environmental issues. You can contact Courtney Hunter at 202/476-2934 or if you have questions about the correct staff members to contact.
You can also access contact information for your Members of Congress at and
Each Member also has district offices located in the state or district he represents. Don’t neglect the district staff. Oftentimes, they serve as the Member’s “eyes and ears” in reporting how constituents feel about certain pieces of legislation. The district staff also typically controls the Member’s schedule while in the district and could become a potential ally in arranging meetings and events with the Member.
Be a squeaky wheel
Take advantage of every opportunity to highlight your positive achievements to your Members of Congress and to educate them about public power. Local press clippings related to your utility should be regularly faxed or emailed to the Member’s district office and to DC staffers who handle issues that concern public power. Add these staffersto your newsletter list.
Feel free to call or email the staff about any controversial or complicated issues about your utility that are covered in the press or newsletter in order to explain or clarify the issue from the perspective of the “people on the ground.” Also contact the staff to share any good news, like receiving an industry award. This regular contact serves to raise the visibility of the utility and spotlight its role in the community and local economy.
Representatives from the utility should schedule a meeting with the district staff and possiblyDC staff to educate them on public power. In cultivating these local allies, you want to make sure the staff understands why public power is so important to protect. Invite the Member and his staff on a tour of the utility or schedule a presentation on public power, providing materials that explain the impact public power has on the communities they serve. Include your business customers in any presentations or tours to highlight the campaign’s message.
Reaching Out to Members of Congress
“To Do” List
Brief your staff, local government staff, governing board, employee association/union leaders, and local elected officials on the PPGB campaign and how they can incorporate this theme into all communications with your Members of Congress and their staff. Distribute talking points for them to use and sample letters for them to submit as well. Ask for their assistance in recruiting businesses and coalition members.
Identify the appropriatecongressional staff with whomto communicate with regarding issues important to the public power utility.
Contact these staff members via phone, mail, email, or personal visit to introduce your utility and the important role it plays in your local business community.
Add these staff members to all news distribution lists, making sure to send them positive news clips and give them a heads up about utility news to stay on their radar screen.
Schedule a briefing for the Member’s district staff and any new DC staff who handle issues related to public power, especially its positive effects on the local economy.
Invite Members of Congress and/or their staff to tour your facility and meet with employees and representatives from your key accounts to see first-hand how important public power is to the community and local economy.
Monitor Members’ actions on issues important to public power and specifically your utility. Stay in communication with the district and DC offices about upcoming legislation. Notify your employees, governing board, and local elected officials to do the same.
Sample Letter to Members of Congress from the Utility
This is a general letter that can be sent to your Members of Congress to introduce you and your utility. You may consider using this letter as an enclosure with the letters of support you collect from your business customers. This letter can be signed by the General Manager, or you can slightly modify the text and have a local elected official sign it.
The Honorable ______
United States Senate (House of Representatives)
Washington, DC
Dear Senator (Representative) ______:
On behalf of (utility name) in (community), I am responsible for providing reliable service to our (number of customers) residential and commercial customers. I take great pride in the fact that we are a community-run, not-for-profit provider of electricity where our customers enjoy low rates and have a say in how our utility runs.I am also proud that these characteristics of our utility help drive the overall prosperity of our community and its citizens.
(Utility name) is one of about 2,000 electric utilities across the country that are referred to as public power systems. It is operated by our local government as a public service, with the mission to provide electricity in a business-like manner and at a reasonable cost.
Public power is good for business here in (community name) and for our local economy. (Insert information about what businesses you have helped attract or retain, efforts you have made to develop the local economy, or specific instances in which you have worked to promote business growth).
In addition to our efforts to grow the local economy, (utility name) serves the interests of the community. Our not-for-profit rates hold down costs, and are (percent) lower than those of (neighboring utility). Obviously, lower electricity rates attract and keep businesses that provide jobs for our citizens.
We can keep our rates reasonable because we don’t have to pay dividends to stockholders, yet we can also make a return to the community. Last year alone we paid (dollar amount) in (transfers to the general fund, in-lieu-of-tax payments, etc.).
We expect over the next year that our electricity rates will (stay the same/rise/decrease due to whatever your local situation is, and how that will affect customers; be as specific as possible and mention whether your utility generates or purchases power, and trends toward fuel types involved).