![]() The committee paid for and has published ads in the July 23 and July 30 editions of The Cairo Messenger questioning certain financial issues at the EMC, including the salary of former EMC President and General Manager Thomas A. Grady EMC’s coverage area includes Grady, Decatur and Thomas counties. Deep South Guns and Pawn is owned by Cairo businessman Gordon Clyatt, who says he is a member of the committee. ![]() The group is calling itself the “Take Back Our Grady EMC Committee” and has made petitions available at the three locations of Deep South Guns and Pawn in Cairo, Thomasville and Bainbridge. “Through a combination of energy efficiency initiatives and renewable energy sources Georgia can meet future energy demands without relying upon polluting, outdated technologies such as coal.A committee of disgruntled members of the Grady Electric Membership Corporation has launched a petition drive in the hope of obtaining signatures from a minimum of 10 percent of the approximately 13,100 members of Grady EMC in order to elect a new board of directors and eject the current management. Meanwhile, Georgia’s significant renewable energy potential remains largely untapped,” said Smith. “Given the corruption of Cobb EMC leadership, investment in a giant new coal plant ought to be suspect as a get-rich-quick scheme rather than a benefit to ratepayers. CEO of Cobb EMC, Dwight Brown, the lead signatory to establish Power4Georgians, and other board members of Cobb EMC are currently under investigation for “theft by taking” along with other white collar crimes by the Cobb County District Attorney and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. SACE recently detailed corruption allegations of the leading proponents of the plant in the Clean Energy Footprints Blog. In December 2008, SACE released a report, The Risks of Building and Operating Plant Washington, detailing the considerable risks involved in Plant Washington and the financial benefits of embracing energy efficiency and clean energy alternatives. The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) has worked with local groups and Georgians for Smart Energy to oppose the plant since its inception. “We look forward to working with our EMC to invest in cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable alternatives now that they have said no to coal.” “We are very pleased that our EMC will not spend our money on this dirty and risky coal plant,” said Ashley Simpson, a GreyStone Power member and member of West Georgians for Clean Energy. Excelsior also noted the weakened demand due to economic slowdown and subsequent investment difficulties in the current economic climate. Both electricity cooperatives cited market uncertainty relating to federal climate legislation. On Sunday, May 17, GreyStone Power followed suit, cited in an article in the Douglas County Sentinel. On Friday, May 15, Excelsior EMC announced at its annual meeting that it had ended its investment in Power4Georgians and Plant Washington. “With pending federal climate legislation and the associated risks to utilities and their customers for emitting carbon dioxide, building new coal plants just doesn’t make sense.” Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. “We applaud GreyStone Power and Excelsior EMC for making the common sense decision to steer away from investing in new coal-fired power plants, and we encourage the other EMCs of Power4Georgians to follow suit,” said Stephen A. Southern Alliance for Clean Energy is calling on the 8 EMCs still partnered with Power4Georgians to follow lead and leave dirty coal behind. Power4Georgians was originally a partnership of 10 EMCs, but as investors dwindle, so does the likelihood of construction for this ill-planned $2.2 billion dirty coal project. (May 18) – In just the past week, two Georgia Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs), GreyStone Power Corporation and Excelsior EMC, have publicly called off their participation in Power4Georgians’ proposed Plant Washington, an 850MW coal-fired power plant planned for Washington County, Ga.
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