Climate Change Protest Leads To 4 Arrests In Phoenixville

PHOENIXVILLE, PA — Four protesters were arrested in Phoenixville on Wednesday morning after blocking entrances to a local PECO building as they demanded the company address climate change.

Around 30 members of an activist group called the Earth Quaker Action Team arrived at the Phoenixville PECO service building, located at 1101 W. Bridge Street, at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The group banded together and created a physical barrier across the entrance, blocking access to and from the building, police said. A few moments later, part of the group moved to also block the rear driveway.

Phoenixville Police, along with PECO, said they told the group they were trespassing, calling it a public safety concern because PECO utility crews could not respond to emergency calls for service.

PECO and the Earth Quaker Action Team have been in touch since 2015, when the group launched. Specifically, the activists are demanding that 20 percent of PECO’s electric supply come from solar by 2025.

Police said a spokesperson for the group told authorities they understood they were trespassing, and that four of them planned on being arrested.

After an hour of the blockade, at 9:30 am. a PECO utility truck attempted to respond to a call. That's when police moved in and arrested the remaining protesters blocking the entrance with a banner and a length of rope.

Louise Willis, 64, of King of Prussia, Margaret Urban, 65, of Prospect Park, Donald Weightman, 70, of Philadelphia, and Frederick Robinson, 68, of Lansdowne were all charged with misdemeanor criminal trespass.

In a statement, the Earth Quaker Action Team said that PECO needed to do more to support local renewable energy and protect the region from climate change-related weather impacts.

“Taking climate change seriously and switching to greener and more just energy sources, such as local solar, would not only create jobs and boost investment — it’s the only way to prevent future weather-related disasters that harm the power grid and its reliability,” said Dana Robinson, an EQAT volunteer and Delaware County resident. “The question is simple: Climate is changing. Why isn’t PECO?”

But PECO, they say, has "refused to present a plan despite claims of being a green leader."

In a statement, PECO said that the activist demands were unrealistic.

"We agree with EQAT’s focus on the environment and their push to advance the use of solar-generated electricity in southeastern Pennsylvania," PECO spokesperson Alexandra Coppage said. "But we disagree with EQAT’s timing, the ultimate cost to our customers, and the funding source of their proposals."

PECO added that the activist demands would cost customers a $1,300 annual increase in their bill, and would require 827,000 rooftop solar installations. Alternatively, they said a larger ground-based solar farm could be built cheaper, but it would require 40,000 acres of land.

PECO says they're supporting legislation in the Pennsylvania legislature to advance solar development, and funding local workforce programs to increase solar jobs. For activists, it's not enough.

"PECO sends over $1 million per day in profits to its Chicago-based parent corporation, Exelon," Tab Skervin, the campaign director of EQAT, said. "Even though PECO has had decades to make the investments necessary to prepare for climate crisis, it continues to cash in on our future."

In addition to the Phoenixville protest, similar events took place in Coatesville and Warminster Wednesday, organizers said.