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IMPACT AREA Affordability TOPIC Energy transition, efficiency, distributed energy, utility bills REGION State AFFORDABILITY PATHWAY Financing OVERSIGHT State tax departments POLICY MECHANISM Legislation Policy OVERVIEW Challenge Residential energy tax credits are a key mechanism for household access to clean energy systems, such as rooftop solar and battery storage, and energy efficiency upgrades for building envelopes […]

IMPACT AREA Affordability TOPIC Utility bills, accountability REGION State AFFORDABILITY PATHWAY Utility Reform OVERSIGHT Utility Commission POLICY MECHANISM Legislation, regulation Policy OVERVIEW Challenge When a utility’s regulated Return on Equity (ROE) for investors exceeds the market cost of capital, they are overcharging ratepayers and the public for the cost of their services. In 2023, the

IMPACT AREA Affordability, transparency TOPIC Utility bills REGION State, utility, local AFFORDABILITY PATHWAY Utility reform OVERSIGHT Energy agency, environment agency, utility commission POLICY MECHANISM Legislation Policy OVERVIEW Challenge One of the largest barriers to effectively addressing energy affordability challenges is a lack of publicly-accessible data about 1) the specific drivers of utility expenditures, 2) how

IMPACT AREA Affordability, climate mitigation TOPIC Energy transition, utility bills, energy efficiency, financing REGION State, utility AFFORDABILITY PATHWAY OVERSIGHT Utility commission POLICY MECHANISM Legislation, regulation Policy OVERVIEW Challenge Investments in residential clean energy technologies, in particular energy efficiency measures, can reduce energy consumption, bills, and greenhouse gas emissions, but often require high upfront investment costs.

IMPACT AREA Affordability, climate mitigation, green jobs TOPIC Utility bills REGION State, Federal AFFORDABILITY PATHWAY Decarbonization OVERSIGHT State social service agencies, energy offices, green banks POLICY MECHANISM Legislation, regulation policy OVERVIEW Challenge In the transition to a clean energy economy, an estimated 60% of single-family homes are not electrification ready, with electrical panels unable to

IMPACT AREA Affordability, climate mitigation, resilience, accountability TOPIC Power sector, distributed energy REGION State, utility, local AFFORDABILITY PATHWAY Utility reform OVERSIGHT Utility Commissions POLICY MECHANISM Legislation, regulation Policy OVERVIEW Challenge Distributed energy resources (DERs) such as rooftop and community solar and battery storage have grown exponentially in recent years,1 but interconnecting DERs to the electricity

IMPACT AREA Affordability, resilience, reliability, climate mitigation TOPIC Energy transition, greenhouse gases, distributed energy REGION State, utility AFFORDABILITY PATHWAY Utility reform OVERSIGHT Utility commission POLICY MECHANISM Regulation, legislation, executive policy OVERVIEW Challenge Current utility planning often fails to adequately value (or entirely omits) distributed energy resources (DERs), such as solar+storage, which can lead to a

IMPACT AREA Affordability TOPIC Bill Assistance REGION State, Utility AFFORDABILITY PATHWAY Funding/Financing OVERSIGHT Utility Commission, Environmental Agency POLICY MECHANISM Legislation, Regulation Policy OVERVIEW Challenge A quarter of U.S. households are energy-burdened1—paying more than six percent of income towards utility bills—and could benefit from forms of bill assistance, but the amount of assistance that can be

IMPACT AREA Resilience, public health, safety, shelter TOPIC Utility bills, power sector, disaster preparedness, children’s health REGION State AFFORDABILITY PATHWAY Household protections OVERSIGHT Utility Commissions POLICY MECHANISM Legislation, regulation, executive action OVERVIEW Challenge In 2024, 3.8 million U.S. households were estimated to have experienced a utility shutoff due to non-payment of utility bills. Nearly 24%

IMPACT AREA Affordability TOPIC Utility bills REGION State AFFORDABILITY PATHWAY Household Protections OVERSIGHT State social service agencies, utility commissions POLICY MECHANISM Legislation, regulation OVERVIEW Challenge In 2024, 17.4 million households—or about 13% of all U.S. households—had outstanding utility bill balances (arrearages), amounting to $17.4 billion. About 24% of all households also experienced at least one