As many NYSEG customers have realized, energy costs have gone up and will continue to rise. Gerri Wiley is an Energy Navigator and long-term resident in NY’s Southern Tier, dedicated to tracking and breaking down delivery and supply cost increases through her monthly updates. Her newsletter, Energy Updates, also provides the latest on offerings by the most reputable subscription solar and renewable energy suppliers. This interview offers a closer look at who Gerri is, how she began this work, and what efforts she takes to help residents navigate today’s complex energy landscape.
Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
Thank you, Emily, for this question and this interview. I would say, most centrally, I am a curious, nature and music-loving, plant-based introvert who reads, listens, ponders, and attempts to synthesize information in a manner that is helpful to my fellow human beings. I am a mother, grandmother, friend, public health nurse, and photographer who is grateful to wake up each day in Owego, right near the beautiful riverwalk, to enjoy life and serve others. I’ve now lived here for twenty years, and over the last decade, this service has taken the form of being an Energy Navigator and a Whole-Food, Plant-Based (WFPB) coach. What I do and the way I do it evolve organically. I prefer to follow my passions of the moment, rather than making a five- or ten-year plan.
For example, I became a Public Health Nurse because I was curious and passionate about the mind-body connection, and I wanted to find out more about how people can achieve high-level wellness. I did my stints in emergency rooms and ambulances in order to confirm my suspicion that restoration and picking up the pieces weren’t for me. I aimed at prevention all the way.
So, when the threat of transforming every square inch of the Southern Tier into a factory floor for gas production (as rock fracturing engineer, Tony Ingraffea, made clear would happen), I vowed to help PREVENT this catastrophe. No one was going to mess with my nest and the nests of my children and grandchildren, who also lived in the Southern Tier. I quit my job as a Public Health Nurse to protect public health. Along with countless groups and individuals too numerous to name, we were successful in banning fracking in New York!
Several years of fighting fracking told me I needed to work FOR, not against something, so I created a brightly colored RENEWABLE ENERGY NOW! sign, distributing it to over 300 people, and joined forces in pushing toward this goal. I may have been living in Owego, but the big action was happening in Tompkins County, with Solarize Tompkins, Brighten Up Caroline, Sustainable Tompkins, Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Energy Navigator Program, and HeatSmart Tompkins. For a while, I forgot I didn’t live there. I STILL receive most of my referrals from Tompkins County residents!
What kind of work do you do?
Overall, I try to make it easier for people to live lightly on the earth, whether it is reducing energy use, making non-toxic household cleaners, eating whole plant foods, or guiding people in decarbonizing their homes. I love to dive into best practices in each of these areas and boil them down to something everyone can understand. My background, not only as a public health nurse but also as a social worker and nutrition counselor, has been invaluable in translating research into reality-based practices for everyday living. Optimal health can only be achieved in a healthy nest and lifestyle that’s best, as Dr. Seuss might say!
What inspired you to start your newsletter?
While I was collaborating with many groups to keep gas drilling out of the targeted Southern Tier of New York, I didn’t want to support in any way the proliferation of fossil fuels that were destabilizing our climate, so I searched for a 100% renewable ESCO (Energy Service Company) to replace NYSEG’s default fossil-nuclear plan. I found this process very cumbersome and couldn’t imagine everyone making a good ESCO choice without spending countless hours as I was doing. So, I decided to send out a monthly Energy Update, featuring what then was a fairly long list of ESCOs from which to choose. When Community Solar projects came online, I added a comparative list of these as well. After a few years and growing interest in my newsletter, I decided to center my Energy Updates around a topic that had greater impact on climate stability. The particular topic of the month usually stems from problems I see people having as they attempt to decarbonize their homes. There’s an ongoing need to clarify the best sequence for home electrification—beginning with a home energy assessment, followed by reducing energy demand through air-sealing and insulation, before sizing and installing a heat pump system, and finally powering the resulting energy load with solar energy.
What are the main environmental or energy challenges you see in our region?
There are many environmental and energy challenges, but I’ll stick with energy challenges and name two: One is that electric demand is rising faster than the grid upgrades are keeping up. Related to this increase in demand, fossil fuels are an increasing percentage of New York’s electricity source mix, which was 45% in 2017 and 60% in 2024. Pair this with our climate goals, and you can see the huge challenge we face.
How do you go about researching the information you share?
I try to stay well-informed on energy matters in general, knowing that the data will be useful at some point. I attend conferences, webinars, clean energy meetings, talk with installers, company representatives, homeowners, Department of Public Service staff, review New York Independent Systems Operator (NYISO) data, New York Generation Attribute Tracking System data, and Municipal Electric & Gas (MEGA) reports.
In what other ways do you share your work, and what other projects or communities are you involved in?
My work is primarily shared in my monthly Energy Updates. People contact me for energy information (email: gerriwiley@yahoo.com). I give presentations to interested groups. I’m on the Village of Owego’s Climate Smart Communities Task Force, where the board of trustees recently accepted a bid for a solar project that will cover the electric load of its all-electric Village Hall. I enjoy showcasing the valuable work of other groups, such as Dryden’s first and very successful Repair Café, where I interviewed volunteer experts who were able to help twenty-four people in just four hours to repair their broken valuables. You can catch a glimpse of this friendly gathering in this less than 7-minute video:https://youtu.be/O1dwUExfnww .
Anything else that you would like to share?
I’m very excited that the same practices we can use for achieving optimal human health are the same ones that serve to protect other animals, our water, air, soil, food, and a habitable climate. If these practices differed, the decisions we make would be much more difficult than they already are.
Also, I like to end articles and interviews with an ask. My request is that everyone reading this would take a silent pledge to live as if each of our 8.2 billion lives around the world were dependent upon how each of us conducts our daily life. What would it be like for each of us to:
Refuse single-use items – cups, utensils, plates, bottles, cans, and carry with us our own reusable items?
Eat a whole-food, plant-based diet?
Compost; keep food out of the landfill while enriching our soil?
Repair, reuse, share, or buy secondhand stuff?
Walk, bike, attend most non-local meetings remotely?
Get a home energy audit; seal air-leaks; insulate?
Forgive yourself and others for shortcomings and work together?
Conclusion
Takeaway 1: Gerri raises two main energy issues she sees in the region: 1) Electric demand is rising faster than the grid upgrades are keeping up. 2) Fossil fuels are an increasing percentage of New York’s electricity source mix, which is a huge challenge when it comes to meeting New York’s climate goals.
Takeaway 2: The Energy Updates newsletter was created when Gerri started researching for 100% renewable ESCOs (Energy Service Companies) to move away from NYSEG’s default fossil-nuclear plan. It was a cumbersome research process; thus, she decided to share her information publicly to help people make better decisions.
Takeaway 3: There’s an ongoing need to clarify how to best decarbonize homes. Gerri provides educational materials through digital and in-person formats, such as informing people directly or through presentations with her involvement in the Village of Owego’s Climate Smart Communities Task Force.
Reflecting on Gerri’s ask, what is one small action that you can take today?
