14 News, The Tri-State's News and Weather Leader-Protesters rally against Vectren

Protesters rally against Vectren

Reporter: Stuart Peck
New Media Producer: Rachel Chambliss

It's not high energy bills, but the environment that brought protesters to Vectren Saturday.

Dozens of protestors marched along Riverside Drive demanding the energy company do more to cleanup the air.

Saturday afternoon's march in Evansville was part of a bigger protest across the country. People in hundreds of cities came out as part of the nationwide rally: "Step It Up Congress." This campaign is trying to push for Congress to cut carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050.

Protestors say the problem of coal pollution can be solved. "No new coal. We want to save the environment; we don't want to breath bad air," protester Kara Rasure says.

The energy giant is proposing a new coal fired power plant in the region, an idea some say would be a bad one.

"Because this region has the largest concentration of coal fired power plants in the world, I think it's important that we don't, locally, we're not burdened with anymore," explains protester Samuel LaBudde.

John Blair, with the group Valley Watch says no one is suggesting Vectren do away with coal power right now, but no new plants need to be built. He says, instead, wind is a better choice. "We are really happy that Vectren signed onto that 30 megawatts of wind this week, and we would encourage them to do another hundred and eliminate coal plants entirely."

Blair says reducing the use of coal isn't the only solution; it is also important for individuals to reduce their consumption of electricity.

In a written statement from Vectren Saturday afternoon, the company says it continues to study several possibilities for clean coal and natural gas technologies.

Mike Roeder with Vectren says "No single solution is ideal or cheap. Vectren is considering costs, timing and potential customer impact before finalizing a decision. The outcome will ensure the power is there to meet future customer needs."