PR Firm Behind American Gas Association Front Group also Member, Consultant for Edison Electric Institute

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This is a guest post by Matt Kasper crossposted fromย Energy and Policyย Institute.

The nationโ€™s largest electric utilities have been relying on a political consulting shop to portray their efforts to attack rooftop solar as having support from the โ€œgrassrootsโ€ for at least the pastย year.

The consulting group, DDC Consulting, has carved out a niche for itself at conjuring up โ€œastroturfโ€ โ€” or faked grassroots efforts. Indeed, the firmโ€™s website says that it specializes in designing, managing, and executing advocacy campaigns that โ€œshape public opinion, sway decision-makers, and affect outcomes in the legislature, the press, the board room, and the public eye.โ€ย DDC was just exposed as the PR firm behind an effort to portray imagined support for natural gas pipelines, this time funded by the American Gasย Association.

The Huffington Postย first revealed that theย American Gas Association is funding a new front group calledย Your Energy, which has advocated for the benefits of natural gas and specifically the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a natural gas pipeline that isย largely owned by Dominion Energy, with ownership stakes also held by Duke Energy and Southern Company.

DeSmog further reported on June 14 thatย DDC Advocacy, short for โ€œDemocracy, Dataย &ย Communicationsโ€ is theย PRย firm helping the American Gas Association with the front group. DeSmogโ€™s Steve Horn writes, โ€œA source who requested anonymity and attended the Chamber of Commerce event told DeSmog, he sawย Ryan Lowry,ย DDCโ€™s Vice President of Client Relations, wearing a Your Energy Virginia name badge at the event.ย DDCย has played a pioneering role in pushing web-centric โ€˜astroturfโ€™ย public relations campaigns, which it callsย โ€˜grassroots.’โ€

A domain registration search confirms that DDC Advocacy is also the PR firm behind the Edison Electric Instituteโ€™s โ€œWe Stand for Energyโ€ campaign, one of the utility industryโ€™s efforts to portray grassroots support behind the utility industryโ€™s attacks on rooftop solarย energy.

Work for the Edison Electricย Institute

DDC Advocacy is a currentย โ€˜Associate Memberโ€™ of the Edison Electric Institute, the trade association for investor-owned electricย utilities.

The profile of the firm on EEIโ€™s website states:ย โ€œDDCโ€™s full-service capabilities include: political strategy, global and local strategy and execution, grassroots and legislative technology, PR and social media management, insights and paid media, outreach, government solutions and PACย compliance.โ€

According toย U.S.ย Internal Revenue Services (IRS) tax forms, DDC Advocacy has been one of EEIโ€™s top five highest paid independent contractors in 2012 and 2014. EEI paidย DDCย Advocacyย $548,163 in 2012ย andย $1,326,106 in 2014ย forย โ€œconsulting.โ€

Additionally, aย 2007 client listย found by DeSmog shows thatย DDCย Advocacy worked with EEI that year along with utilities American Electric Power, Dominion, Exelon, San Diego Gasย &ย Electric, andย Southern Californiaย Edison.

While it is unclear what consulting work DDC Advocacy has done for EEI and the utility companies over the years, a domain registration search shows that DDC Advocacy has at least been a part of EEIโ€™s We Stand For Energy campaign since its foundingย since DDC Advocacy is listed as the organization that registered EEIโ€™sย westandfordenergy.com.

WhoIs website look up for We Stand for Energy's website shows DDC Advocacy owns the site

We Stand For Energy was launched in 2014. A POWER magazine article about the advocacy campaign saidย aย consulting firm had been retained by EEIย to develop the program and โ€œthe national effort of the program is supposed to โ€˜educateโ€™ customers about the importance of electricity in their lives.โ€ย The article did not name the firm hired by EEI.

We Stand For Energy ad
We Stand For Energy ad Credit:ย EEI

A look at the We Stand For Energy campaign shows similarities to the Your Energy campaign in efforts to pass as a grassroots-type organization. The EEI campaign recently ran advertisements that urged voters in Indiana, Maine, and New Mexico to ask their lawmakers to support legislation that would have harmed distributed solar energy, or oppose legislation that would have helpedย it.

We Stand For Energy ad for Indiana voters regarding Senate Billย 309:

We Stand For Energy ad for Maine voters regarding LDย 1504:

We Stand For Energy ad for New Mexico voters regarding Senate Bill 210/House Billย 109:

An additional We Stand For Energy web page features critical statements about the Clean Power Plan andย Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS):

โ€œEPAโ€™s Clean Power Plan Would Harm Reliability, Affordability โ€ฆ The Plan has been criticized for its flawed assumptions that form the basis for unrealistic expectations of carbon emission reductions โ€ฆ Farmers and ranchers in South Dakota have expressed similar, well-justified concerns about the expanded definition of Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) under the Clean Waterย Act.โ€

Work for American Petroleumย Institute

Along with the โ€œgrassrootsโ€ consultancy work DDC Advocacy has done for the Edison Electric Institute and the American Gas Association, the firm has also helped the American Petroleum Institute in its state advocacyย campaigns.

In fact, aย DDC Advocacy case studyย reveals how the firm works with trade associations andย companies:

โ€œDDC was tasked with creating an on-the-ground campaign focused on raising the profile of Energy Citizens in support of natural gas production from the โ€œMarcellus Shaleโ€ formation in Pennsylvania. This was the first time a consumer-based advocacy group would collaborate with other local landowners, small businesses, and industry groups to support natural gas development from the Marcellus Shale site; conveying positions to government officials, the media, and the broader public; as well as building organizational momentum โ€ฆ Our creative team played a significant role in branding the Pennsylvania Energy Citizens effortโ€”developing a state-level version of the national brand, and a series of collateral that included apparel, stationary, and bumper stickers to support theirย efforts.โ€

Main image: Cropped ad for We Are Forย Energy

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