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PECO gives a discount to customers heating with electric

Philadelphia’s weather is downright tropical in the summer, but that can be hard to remember in January as residents crank up the heat and dread the monthly heating bills. PECO’s residential heating rate takes out some of the sting for households that heat with electric power. PECO’s “RH” rate, as they label it, “is designed

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1 min read
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The Energy Co-op’s executive director looks toward the future of renewables in a challenging political climate

In September 2008, George W. Bush was president, the dominant fuel source for U.S. electricity generation was coal, and the Paris Agreement was seven years away. Much has changed in the commonwealth and the country since Grid spoke with The Energy Co-op for our first issue. Founded in 1979 by members of Weavers Way Food

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2 mins read
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Philly schools are supposed to get millions for rooftop solar. But federal and state policies are casting shade

A year ago, advocates of solar energy across Pennsylvania were flying high. Democratic state Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, whose South Philly district stretches from Pat’s King of Steaks to Lincoln Financial Field, had just pulled off a political Hail Mary: successfully shepherding a clean energy bill through the gridlocked State Capitol. Titled Solar for Schools, the

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7 mins read
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Philadelphia Gas Works agrees to hold first ever community meetings over reducing emissions

For the first time in the utility’s history, Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) has agreed to hold community engagement meetings to discuss decarbonization. In a settlement agreement approved Oct. 9 by the Public Utility Commission (PUC), PGW agreed not only to a significantly lower rate hike than they initially proposed, but also to begin engaging in

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3 mins read
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Elmwood Park Zoo’s newest building runs on solar energy

For the Elmwood Park Zoo, conservation doesn’t just mean protecting wild animals, like the giraffes, jaguars and monkeys that live at the Norristown facility, but also the planet they inhabit. “We are not just species survival-based, we are also environmental survival-based, so we want to make sure we’re taking care of the planet as best

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2 mins read
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Editor’s Notes: Hardly Free

A human wrote this, and a human edited it. A human laid out this page too. I could have asked one of the popular generative artificial intelligence models to compose a 600-word essay, in this case about the concerns a middle-aged writer and editor holds about a flood of environmentally destructive new technology that threatens

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2 mins read
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Home electrification and increased production of renewables are the goals, but challenges with infrastructure, policy and markets complicate the green transition

“Now — the water is boiling,” says Jen Hamilton, calling attention to the pot on her stove. She lifts the pot and places her other hand flat on the cooking surface. She remains uninjured. “It’s safer!” she exclaims, explaining that her cats used to inadvertently turn on the gas on her old stove by bumping

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9 mins read
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