Opinion: AEP power outage creates bigger problems for the poor and ill – The Columbus Dispatch

Diane Jackson| Guest columnist

Diane Jackson has served as a team member and network member in the B.R.E.A.D. (Building Responsibility, Equality, And Dignity) Organization for four years. She has a strong desire to see environmental justice implemented in the city.

As one of the nearly 170,000 households in Columbus chosen by AEP for intentional power outage, I am appalled and frustrated.

Although my electric bill was paid, AEP chose to turn off the service in the area where I reside, disrupting my home and community with extreme heat, black nights, the threat of food spoiling, and children sleeping in their air-conditioned SUV instead of being tucked in their beds.

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Did AEP even consider the horrific inconvenience and discomfort that the intentional power outages would have on low-income households?

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They are the most vulnerable in our community.Many of the families or individuals were already struggling to beat the heat before intentional power outages were implemented.

I am a B.R.E.A.D. board member. We represent 44 racially and religiously diverse congregations with over 20,000 members across Central Ohio.

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I also serve on the Steering Committee for our environmental justice campaign, and our research substantiates that these intentional power outages foreshadow what residents can expect in Columbusif we continue to ignore the climate crisis our city is facing.

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Columbus is getting hotter and wetter, and that directly impacts the health of our community. Heat and humidity make it difficult to breathe, especially for those with respiratory issues like COPD and asthma. Columbus is already the 13th most challenging place in the U.S. to live with asthma, and is the fastest growing and eighth most intense urban heat island in the country.

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That means the inner city of Columbus can get up to 24 degrees hotter than surrounding rural areas in the summer, and we are experiencing more 90+ degree days than ever before. In addition to that, we are getting more and more intense rainfall such as the storms preceding these outages and we end up in the horrible situation we find ourselves in today.

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Many members of our community are already struggling to navigate this new reality which consists of increase rainfall, extreme heat, and poor air quality.

How are they expected to cope when their power is intentionally cut off through no fault of their own? What about our medically vulnerable who require power for their medical devices or refrigeration for their medications? What about those with low-income who must now throw away a refrigerators worth of food?

What about those with COPD or asthma who cannot breathe in this heat and humidity? AEP claims that the decision to manually shut off power to certain areas was determined by lines that were overloaded, nothing else. I and other members of B.R.E.A.D. would argue that only looking at power usage is problematic.

B.R.E.A.D. is pushing for expanding and protecting our urban tree canopy because many of the communities where tree canopy is lowest (like Linden and Hilltop, where power has been turned off) are also the hottest as a result of an ongoing legacy of redlining in these neighborhoods.

It is no surprise, then, that energy demand would be higher in these neighborhoods.

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When equity is not considered in critical decisions like this, under-served communities seem to be targeted to bear the burden of the disparity while more affluent neighborhoods remain unaffected.

While AEP claims that this is not the new normal, we cannot let the urgency of the climate crisis fade away when power is restored. Our community deserves the dignity of advanced notice for future shut offs. Our community deserves policies that will ensure equity. All Columbus residents need protection from the effects of climate change, regardless of zip code or income.

This is a justice issue, and B.R.E.A.D. will continue to work with and press officials to act.

Diane Jackson has served as a team member and network member in the B.R.E.A.D. (Building Responsibility, Equality, And Dignity) Organization for four years. She has a strong desire to see environmental justice implemented in the city.

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Opinion: AEP power outage creates bigger problems for the poor and ill - The Columbus Dispatch