Smarter NY Energy
Smarter NY Energy is an anti-electrification campaign launched by the propane industry. In early 2023, members and allies of the New York State Energy Coalition, an oil heat trade association, had pledged $395,000 to fight the state’s proposed climate policies, according to reporting by New York Focus.
The aim of the campaign was to generate comments on New York’s Climate Action Council’s draft scoping plan and oppose New York’s Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act (CLCPA).
The campaign promoted misinformation, including images that warned people that electric appliances can’t heat homes. In reality, electric heat pumps have proved enormously successful in homes and businesses, especially in cold temperatures. Maine achieved its 2019 goal of installing 100,000 heat pumps by 2025, two years ahead of schedule, which prompted the state to establish a new goal of installing another 175,000 by 2027. And reporting in Colorado and Minnesota further details how heat pumps perform effectively in cold weather.
Ad Spend
Utilities continue to stall and limit climate action by funding front groups to spread climate misinformation and false solutions to solve the crisis through advertising on social media networks.
Using data from the Meta Ad Library API and existing code from Brown University, EPI created a tool to expose the amount utility front groups are spending on advertisements about social issues, elections, or politics across Meta technologies, along with the specific regions the advertisements target.
