A report by the Sierra Club says Georgia Power isn't doing enough to transition to cleaner energy sources, along with dozens of other utility companies across the U.S.

In the analysis, Southern Company and most of its subsidiaries - including Alabama Power and Georgia Power - received failing grades when their actions were compared to their public positions on renewable power.

Charline Whyte - senior campaign representative with the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign in Georgia - said Southern Company's promise to reach "net-zero" carbon emissions by 2050 is a step in the right direction, but it has yet to take the steps necessary to decarbonize.

"As a whole, Southern Company would have you believe that it's rapidly transitioning its energy portfolio from dirty fossil fuels - like coal and fracked gas - to clean energy," said Whyte. "But numbers don't lie. Southern Company still heavily relies on fossil fuels to power our grid."

We reached out to Southern Company and Georgia Power, and they stated in an email that they have seen the Sierra Club report and haven't made any public comment on it to this point.

The report says utilties' lack of action risk the country's goal of a clean, renewable electric grid by 2030.

Whyte said it is clear that rapid action on climate change is needed, as Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi have already seen its serious consequences - from record high temperatures to more catastrophic hurricanes and floods.

She said Georgia Power may be closing coal plants, but that isn't the whole story.

"Georgia Power's latest energy plan secured fracked gas power-purchase agreements that lock the state into another decade of fossil fuels," said Whyte, "and eclipse the small renewable investments the utility proposed."

She noted that Alabama Power has no plans to stop burning coal at its Miller plant in northern Alabama, and is waiting until after 2040 to even consider retiring what the report calls the nation's number one carbon polluter.

Report co-author Noah Ver Beek - a Sierra Club Energy Campaigns analyst - said despite pledges from more than 70 utilities nationwide to stop reliance on coal and gas, most are still invested in fossil-fuel generation.

"Seeing that the firm plans to retire 28% of their coal capacity is fairly disappointing," said Ver Beek. "This is an improvement over the score that we saw last time, when about 25% of the coal generation was ready to be retired. So we have a 3.3 percentage point increase. But again, not nearly the scale that we need to meet the challenge of today."

The report suggests the power companies retire their coal plants by 2030, and calls on them to take advantage of big incentives in the bipartisan infrastructure law designed to help them transition to renewable power.

Conservation groups in Texas want the Environmental Protection Agency to continue its push for tighter restrictions on methane emissions at oil and gas well sites, especially in the Permian basin.

The group Environment Texas testified at recent EPA hearings. It cites flaring as a major concern, the process of burning methane into the air at well sites instead of capturing and using it.

Michael Lewis, a clean air and water advocate with Environment Texas, said flaring is not only damaging to the environment, but harmful to humans - especially those who are nearby.

"Methane, especially in Texas, causes health problems," he said. "If you live close to these sites, you have a higher rate of leukemia, higher rate of lymphoma, higher rate of cancer. It's not uncommon to see even radio-nucleotides, so literal radiation."

Lewis said wells are often located in economically disadvantaged areas where people have few options to avoid the pollution they emit. The EPA has also proposed rules to encourage oil companies to pursue recent advancements in methane-mitigation and leak-detection technology.

According to the Environmental Defense Fund, methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. But beyond emissions, advocates are also calling for stricter pipeline regulations.

In Texas, Lewis said, there are tens of thousands of miles of gas and oil pipeline, "much of which is still unregulated. And pipeline leaks. We don't have enough inspectors, we don't have people going out and checking them. Now, with some of our new equipment that's out there, such as drone monitoring, we can be checking this stuff."

The Environmental Defense Fund has said the EPA's proposal to tighten rules on emissions is a step in the right direction, the group wants to see stronger action to end pollution and reduce flaring.

Minnesota has surpassed the goals it set more than a decade ago for renewable-energy standards. But as the climate crisis grows larger, there's a push to adopt new goals supporters say will benefit the state in multiple ways.

The start of the legislative session saw Democratic leaders and clean-energy advocates revive calls for Minnesota to approve a plan for 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040. The House version passed out of committee this week, and a Senate panel will soon take it up.

Michael Noble, executive director of the group Fresh Energy, said given the strides the state has already made in transitioning to sources such as wind and solar, meeting the revised goal should be achievable.

"Zero-carbon electricity sources are universally available and low cost," he said, "and our three largest utilities have already committed to get all of the carbon out of the electric supply. "

Companies such as Xcel Energy have carbon-free goals by 2050, but some on the utility side have expressed concern about reaching a higher standard while trying to balance energy demands and costs.

Supporters stress that relying on cleaner power sources will help control energy bills because they're cheaper to produce than coal-fired power. Beyond reducing emissions, backers are convinced this approach would lead to more jobs and innovation in Minnesota.

Gregg Mast, executive director of the group Clean Energy Economy Minnesota, said the plan provides flexibility by offering utilities "offramps" if they convey the need to reassess their contributions. He said that should put customers at ease about trying to achieve the 2040 goal while navigating volatile energy markets.

"Energy consumers should know that this will ensure that we continue to have clean, reliable and affordable energy," he said.

Noble said Minnesota doesn't want to lose ground in the global transition to clean energy.

"All 192 nations have now pledged to be net carbon neutral by the middle of the century," he said, "and this positions Minnesota to attract businesses and attract industries who want low-carbon, zero-carbon energy."

Experts are warning Colorado households utility bills currently making their way to mailboxes are likely to be even higher than the supersized bills people received for November's energy use.

Denise Stepto, chief communications officer for Energy Outreach Colorado, said as energy prices have remained stubbornly high, December brought an arctic blast and subzero temperatures right in time for winter holiday celebrations.

"This next bill, we think, is going to be the higher one, much higher," Stepto explained. "It was a holiday, so more people were gathered in a home, lights on, things cooking, everything going."

It is a problem, Stepto said, because many Coloradans may have already tapped one-time-only assistance through Energy Outreach Colorado and the state's Low-Income Energy Assistance Program.

Calls to Energy Outreach Colorado's Heat Help Line are up 43% compared with the same time period last year. The week ending Dec. 18, they received more than 16,000 calls, up from 9,000 the week before, which is the largest call volume in two years of tracking.

Stepto pointed to one call she fielded this week from a mother trying to get help for her veteran son with a disability who was struggling to afford his high energy bills. She pointed out there has been an increased sense of desperation, especially for fixed and low-income households.

Stepto worries higher-than-average utility bills, while not sustainable, are likely to continue through the winter months.

"People are not abusing their energy use," Stepto argued. "They're keeping their thermostat as low as they can. They're being energy wise, it's just the cost is the cost. So there's only so much that folks can do."

During the week ending Jan. 8, Energy Outreach Colorado released more than $473,000 to help 728 struggling households who applied for assistance to pay utility bills. People can still get help -- to make sure utilities are not disconnected, and connect with other programs for which they qualify -- by calling Energy Outreach Colorado's helpline: 866-432-8435.