Power move: Stacey Abrams’ next act is the electrification of the US

Stacey Abrams has been hailed as a masterly community organizer, after she helped turn out the voters that secured two Senate seats for Democrats in once solidly red Georgia. She has also run twice - unsuccessfully - for state governor. For her next move, she's not focusing on electoral power so much as power itself.

Recently she left the world of campaign politics and took a job as senior counsel for the non-profit Rewiring America. Her role will focus on helping thousands of people across America wean their homes and businesses off fossil fuels and on to electricity, at a moment when scientists have given a "final warning" about the need to curb greenhouse gas emissions and prevent global catastrophe.

"We are at an inflection point where we can choose to electrify," she said in an interview. "We don't have to do it everywhere, all at once. If you want to see what the future looks like, we start building it here and now."

The impetus for her role comes from significant moves taken by the Biden administration. When he signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) last year, President Joe Biden hailed it as "the biggest step forward on climate ever". It includes a sprawling array of tax credits, rebates and other incentives to help people electrify their lives.

"The government has basically filled a bank account for you with thousands of dollars that will help you go electric," Abrams said.

Her mission is to help people access that so-called bank account.

"You can improve your indoor air quality, make cooking quick and easy, make being cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and be more affordable," Abrams said. "But we have to talk about it."