Protecting Appalachian Consumers From Monopoly Utility Expansion
Pennsylvania & Maryland Campaign Case Study
A Growing Energy Crisis in Two States
Over the past year, Pennsylvania and Maryland, particularly across their Appalachian regions, emerged as critical battlegrounds in the fight over the future of electricity markets. Driven by rising demand, aging infrastructure, and increasing pressure from monopoly utilities to expand their control, these communities sat at the center of a growing energy crisis.
In Pennsylvania, a competitive market had long kept generation costs lower through private investment, but rising demand and transmission costs were putting that system under strain as utilities pushed to expand into generation, threatening to replace competition with monopoly control. In Maryland, consumers in western, Appalachian counties were already facing higher bills driven by utility-controlled delivery costs. When House Bill 1532 was introduced in March 2026, it brought the fight to the forefront, highlighting the real risks of shifting power to monopoly utilities at the expense of ratepayers already under pressure.
State and Local, Built for How Appalachia Works
Reaching Decision-Makers at the Moments That Mattered
At the state level, we focused on reaching decision-makers and high-value audiences at the moments that mattered most: geofencing statehouses during key legislative sessions and major conferences to maintain consistent visibility among policymakers, lobbyists, and energy insiders. We layered in precision targeting of curated stakeholder lists, delivering messaging directly to the homes of elected officials and energy influencers.
Activating Appalachia's Anti-Utility Super Voters
At the local level, we recognized that Appalachian communities require a fundamentally different approach. In this region, county politics carry outsized weight: people derive identity from their county, and local elected officials are institutions unto themselves. Rather than messaging down from the statehouse, we activated a defined universe of "anti-utility super voters" in key Appalachian districts, empowering residents to make their voices heard and drive change from within their communities. The result was a disciplined, multi-layered campaign that combined strategic timing, audience precision, and message repetition, built for how Appalachia actually works.
Real Results for Real Households
Our campaigns in Pennsylvania and Maryland delivered strong, measurable impact across awareness, engagement, and policy outcome.
In Maryland alone, over a six-week active campaign window, we generated 4.8 million impressions, 7,400+ clicks, 3.9 million video views, and more than 1.4 million completed video views. To put that reach in perspective: our impression numbers reflect meaningful penetration among the adults with connected devices across the targeted Appalachian and suburban regions, with key stakeholders retargeted multiple times throughout the legislative cycle. In Pennsylvania, efforts added more than 1.4 million impressions and 1.1 million video views, reinforcing the competitive market narrative at a critical moment.
The outcomes matched the reach. In Maryland, House Bill 1532 evolved into the Utility Relief Act, with utility-led generation removed from the bill entirely. It passed both chambers. The final legislation is projected to reduce household energy bills by approximately $150 annually through surcharge reductions, while advancing long-term grid modernization.
Our work in Pennsylvania and Maryland demonstrates that targeted strategy and disciplined execution can protect competition, influence outcomes, and deliver real results for the consumers who need it most.
"We didn't just reach the right audiences. We helped Appalachian communities find their voice and make the change they wanted."
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