October 14, 2022

Fight Corporate Monopolies Releases Campaign Guidance on Utility Companies

Washington, D.C. — Fight Corporate Monopolies released a new resource for candidates on how to make monopolistic utility companies play by the rules. Our campaign guidance memos will help supercharge their economic messages in the final weeks leading up to the November general election. Yesterday's Consumer Price Index report shows inflation rose to 8.2 percent in September, including a 33.1 percent rise in utility gas services and 15.5 percent rise in electricity costs. As corporations blame inflation for price gouging consumers, they are also boasting record profits with 2021 being their most profitable year since 1950. 

“Americans are feeling burdened by high costs of living and need real action from government leaders to hold consolidated industries accountable,” Helen Brosnan, Executive Director of Fight Corporate Monopolies said. “With skyrocketing utility bills, monopolistic utility companies are a prime example of an industry that has gone unchecked and are using their power to take advantage of working people by jacking up prices, disconnecting power supplies and charging excessive late fees. Let’s make clear that we’ll take on the greed of utility giants and deliver solutions to win back the trust of working families.”

Recent polls have found that taking on corporate power while addressing the economic struggles of working people is a winning and popular message among voters. Utility monopolies provide a useful example: a current point of economic pain for many voters and a clear corporate villain to blame. “Make Utility Companies Play by the Rules” offers four solutions and sample talking points for candidates to use on the campaign trail: (1) ban utility companies from politics; (2) ban price gouging and cap profits for big utility companies; (3) outlaw cruel utility disconnections; (4) and end late fees. In recent weeks, Fight Corporate Monopolies have unveiled other candidate resources in addition to today’s utility guidance memo to aid in Democrats’ efforts to win voters this November: 

• Our Campaign Guidance Memo includes broad messaging that illustrate the harms of monopolies, legislative solutions and examples of consolidation in specific industries like healthcare, Big Ag, and retail.
• Corporate Power Crisis: Explained breaks down the issue of corporate consolidation in various industries and includes talking points for candidates.
• Corporate Power Maps are dossiers that illustrate the influence of corporations in states, allowing candidates to identify their harms within their own community. 

Learn more about the "Make Utility Companies Play by the Rules" memo here. 

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