FROM THE EDUCATION FUND CHAIR Good evening! Welcome to the 13th annual Green Tie Awards celebration. I graciously thank all of you for tuning in tonight – we are excited to have you here, and we have a lot to celebrate. In 2021, the CVSC Education Fund (CVSCEF) achieved significant milestones in our efforts to protect South Carolina’s air, land, and water. • Collected thousands of ratepayer signatures on a petition submitted to the Public Service Commission (PSC) and helped to drive hundreds of solar customers to testify at the PSC, both in opposition to Dominion’s industry-killing rooftop solar proposal. • Educated businesses, grassroots advocates, and grasstop leaders on the importance of long-term utility planning at the PSC, highlighting critical opportunities to engage in discussions regarding coal-heavy Dominion and Duke Plans. Following our education and grassroots advocacy efforts, the PSC rejected Duke and Dominion’s coal-dominated long-term generation plans and rejected Dominion’s solar-killing net metering proposal. • Developed new partnerships for energy justice work and convened a South Carolina Energy Justice Coalition that aims to reduce unaffordable energy burdens for households across the state. • Worked with new and existing land protection partners to begin to re‑imagine what land protection can look like in South Carolina and how we build a more accessible and inclusive toolbox for land and water protection. • As a leading voice for the environmental community, CVSCEF was invited to join conservation, industry, business, and regulated entities on the Environmental Protection Subcommittee of SHaPE SC – a task force created this year to review whether reform or restructuring is needed at SC DHEC. I am energized by this work and ready to keep up the fight for conservation in South Carolina.
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