Target: Emma Reynolds, UK Minister of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Goal: Address serious issues in electric and water infrastructure that are hurting consumers.
Careless management of aging infrastructure is contributing to a widespread public health crisis in the United Kingdom (UK). Fifty-plus-year-old electricity cables are leaking oil all across underground England. Saturated soil is believed to have wrought havoc on the environment, killing trees, beneficial microorganisms, and contaminating nearby water supplies. While limited strides have been made in preventing these leaks, an outright replacement of aging cables is sorely needed.
And in the water supply industry, leaky pipes and other deficiencies are becoming a major problem as well, so much so that England’s and Wales’ water suppliers plan to raise water bills by an average of over one-third in just five years’ time. While companies argue they need to increase prices to combat the effects of elevated temperatures, critics charge that decades of under-investment and a faulty system have created this crisis. As per usual, vulnerable consumers who do not have the funds for these steep price hikes will suffer the most.
Sign the petition below to demand leaders begin enacting broad changes years in the making to shield consumers from the far-reaching consequences of mismanagement.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Minister Reynolds,
UK Power Networks’ oil-leaking electric cables and the water industry’s pricing crisis are critical examples of how lack of clear planning and investment are directly and indirectly harming consumers. The former issue is causing wide-spread environmental devastation and clear threats to public health as oil saturation damages both land and water. “Long-term” replacement of cables is not sufficient because this problem will only grow with every day of inaction.
As for the faltering water industry, “water outages” and skyrocketing prices will continue to put an undue financial burden on consumers across England and Wales. The current model for the water industry is stricken by under-investment and lacking accountability. Please heed the suggestions of experts to explore new models for transforming the industry, such as giving customers a direct ownership stake in the companies that are supposed to serve them.
Take the steps necessary to restore power to consumers.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Nitin Sharma
