CGEP Book Talk — Powerless: The People’s Struggle for Energy

Energy is essential to modern life—it powers our homes, protects our health, and enables daily tasks. Yet for millions of Americans, keeping the lights on and homes comfortable is a constant struggle. In Powerless: The People’s Struggle for Energy, Diana Hernández and Jennifer Laird uncover the often-overlooked crisis of energy insecurity—the struggle to afford or access the basic household energy needed to live safely and with dignity.

Drawing from in-depth interviews and national survey data, Powerless brings to light the lived experiences of families forced to choose between heating and eating, enduring unsafe living conditions, and navigating a broken energy safety net. Hernández and Laird show that energy insecurity is not just an economic issue—it is a public health emergency, a social injustice, and a silent epidemic hiding in plain sight.

Join Powerless author and Co-Director of the Energy Opportunity Lab at Columbia University SIPA’s Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) Diana Hernández and CGEP Founding Director Jason Bordoff for a special conversation co-hosted by CGEP and Resources for the Future (RFF) on the book’s major findings, the structural drivers of energy inequity, and the bold, actionable policies needed to make safe, affordable energy a reality for all. The evening event will also feature opening welcome remarks from Carlos Martín, RFF Vice President for Research and Policy Engagement.

A networking reception with light fare and beverages will immediately follow the talk.

This in-person event will be hosted at Resources for the Future in Washington D.C.

There is on-site parking (with associated fees) and the building is metro accessible from Dupont Circle.