Switch, and say “Frack no!” to AGL and NSW’s secret CSG handshake

Dear NEVILLE,

Wow. In news breaking today, it seems that the New South Wales government has been teaming up with AGL to ensure that little stands in the way of the company’s fracking plans.

A special report in the Sydney Morning Herald has revealed the government redefined planning laws at AGL’s behest to fast track approvals for their devastating coal seam gas mining just outside the community of Gloucester ^[1].

The Gloucester project has been a nightmare for local residents, with the government and AGL riding roughshod over concerns about the health and well-being of their community, their local environment and their prime agricultural land ^[2].

If the revelations are true, it would appear the New South Wales government is outsourcing environmental planning to Australia’s biggest polluter. What’s worse? AGL’s getting away with it. The good news is there’s something you can do to show AGL their apparent disregard for local communities is not on.

Tell AGL to frack off and join 12,000 others who’ve switched to a low-cost, cleaner energy company with genuine green credentials.

Since its inception, the Gloucester CSG project has been plagued by environmental problems, including the dumping of tainted water into Newcastle’s sewer system and the discovery of harmful BTEX chemicals in flowback water ^[3][4]. In both cases AGL got the all-clear from the NSW government and was allowed to go on drilling the heart out of this regional community ^[5][6].

Our government is the only thing standing between mining companies and the wholesale destruction of our natural environment, but now the truth is clearer than ever – they’re playing on the same team.

When governments can’t be trusted to uphold their own laws and hold big, polluting corporations to account, we the people need to step up and take matters into our own hands.

GetUp’s Better Power campaign is one way households can take the power back by switching away from Australia’s dirtiest energy companies to a low-cost, cleaner energy alternative.

Send a message to dirty energy giants like AGL by switching retailers through GetUp’s Better Power campaign.

For the Better Power campaign GetUp has partnered with Powershop – an affordable, carbon-neutral retailer which was ranked greenest in Australia by Greenpeace in their latest Green Electricity Guide ^[7]. Powershop is owned by Meridian, a 100% renewable energy generator which has already invested more than $1 billion in wind farms in Australia, and has a commitment never to invest in fossil fuels like coal and CSG.

You’ll still be getting your electricity from the grid, which means it won’t be different from the power you’re currently getting, but you’ll have peace of mind knowing that your energy consumption is offset and you’re no longer contributing to companies that fund and support CSG.

So far more than 12,000 everyday Australians have made the switch through Better Power, offsetting an estimated 70,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the coming year – equivalent to a whopping 28,000 cars off Australia’s roads! ^[8]

Best of all, for every person who switches through the campaign, Powershop pays a commission that goes towards GetUp’s pro-renewable and anti-CSG campaigns. So far we’ve raised more than $1.2 million through the Better Power campaign, and it all goes towards supporting real, meaningful action on climate change and against unconventional coal seam gas.

Plus, by switching you’ll be joining 12,000 others and adding your voice to a growing movement designed to show polluters, energy companies and the government that Australians mean business when it comes to renewable energy, and they’re prepared to vote with their wallet to show they care.

For too long, companies like AGL have been ignoring the community’s wishes on CSG and coal-fired power. Let’s make a stand today and use our power as consumers to raise our voices for change.

Anthony, for the GetUp Team

P.S. We know that this campaign, and the millions of dollars we take away from AGL’s retail brand as a result, will influence their upcoming decision on whether to continue with coal seam gas and the Gloucester project. Their own CEO said as much recently, admitting that the Gloucester project’s impact on AGL’s retail brand was “always something [they] have to be attentive to”^[9]. Meanwhile leading investment analyst Credit Suisse estimated that if we switch 30,000 AGL customers, we’ll take $100 million off their bottom line^[10]. So get switching!

References
[1] AGL coal seam gas in Gloucester: Government bowed to pressure for urgent amendment, documents show, Sydney Morning Herald, 13 August 2015
[2] CSG more trouble than it’s worth for AGL, Sydney Morning Herald, 14 March 2015
[3] AGL, Transpacific probed over fracking water discharges, Sydney Morning Herald, 9 January 2015
[4] AGL suspends coal seam gas project after traces of chemicals BTEX found in water samples, ABC Rural, 29 January 2015
[5] EPA finds ‘no breach’ in discharge of water from AGL’s Gloucester coal seam gas site, ABC News, 22 January 2015
[6] Coal seam gas: AGL cleared of adverse findings to resume operations in Gloucester, Sydney Morning Herald, 19 May 2015
[7] The Green Electricity Guide, Greenpeace, August 2014
[8] Modelling on Better Power campaign, ClimateCare, July 2015
[9] AGL takes $600m in writedowns, The Australian, 6 July 2015.
[10] Credit Suisse analysis, July 2014; Credit Suisse Research and Analytics, AGL Energy – I can see clearly now, 19 March 2015; Citi Research, 18 February 2015.