Uncategorized

COMMUNITY BENEFIT Affordability, Decarbonization KEYWORDS Clean energy, Decarbonization, Distributed energy, Electricity, Renters REGION State, Local AFFORDABILITY STRATEGY Residential Decarbonization OVERSIGHT State Energy and/or Environmental Protection Offices, Utility Commissions POLICY MECHANISM Legislation, Regulation Why This Matters Households unable to install rooftop solar because of cost considerations, roof condition, or renter status are typically denied access to […]

COMMUNITY BENEFIT Affordability, Decarbonization, Public Health, Workforce KEYWORDS Clean energy, Decarbonization, Distributed energy, Efficiency, Electricity, Electrification, Housing, Utility rates  REGION Federal, State, Local AFFORDABILITY STRATEGY Decarbonization OVERSIGHT State Social Service Agencies, Energy Agencies, Utility Commissions POLICY MECHANISM Legislation, Regulation Why This Matters Space and water heating account for approximately 60% of total residential energy use.1

COMMUNITY BENEFIT Affordability, Decarbonization, Workforce KEYWORDS Housing, Electricity, Decarbonization, Clean energy, Electrification REGION Federal, State, Local AFFORDABILITY STRATEGY Residential Decarbonization OVERSIGHT State Social Service Agencies, Energy Agencies, Green Banks POLICY MECHANISM Legislation Why This Matters In the transition to a clean energy economy, an estimated 60% of single-family homes are not electrification ready, with electrical

COMMUNITY BENEFIT Affordability KEYWORDS Assistance, Utility Bills REGION State AFFORDABILITY STRATEGY Household Protections OVERSIGHT State Social Service Agencies, Utility Commissions POLICY MECHANISM Legislation, Regulation Why This Matters 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

COMMUNITY BENEFIT Affordability KEYWORDS Utility Rates REGION State AFFORDABILITY STRATEGY Utility Reform: Cost Containment OVERSIGHT Lobbying and Election Oversight Bodies, Utility Commissions POLICY MECHANISM Legislation, Regulation Why This Matters Investor-owned utilities engage in many costly activities unrelated to or even in conflict with their obligations of service to ratepayers, mostly notably political activities. But, until

COMMUNITY BENEFIT Affordability KEYWORDS Assistance, Electricity, Methane gas, Utility bills REGION State AFFORDABILITY STRATEGY Household Protections OVERSIGHT Utility Commission POLICY MECHANISM Legislation, Regulation, Executive Why This Matters Roughly a quarter of households across the country are “energy-burdened,” meaning they pay more than 6% of their income towards energy bills.1 Urban low-income households pay an average

COMMUNITY BENEFIT Affordability, Resilience, Decarbonization, Workforce, Energy reliability KEYWORDS Decarbonization, Electricity, Clean energy, Disaster preparedness, Resilience, Distributed energy, Renters REGION Federal, State AFFORDABILITY STRATEGY Residential Decarbonization OVERSIGHT State Social Service Agencies, Energy Agencies, Green Banks POLICY MECHANISM Legislation Why This Matters Although solar installations have been trending up among low- and moderate-income households, they are

COMMUNITY BENEFIT Affordability, Safety, Public health, Resilience KEYWORDS Shutoffs, Utility bills, Disaster preparedness REGION State AFFORDABILITY STRATEGY Household Protections OVERSIGHT Utility Commission POLICY MECHANISM Legislation, Regulation, Executive  Why This Matters In 2024, 3.8 million U.S. households were estimated to have experienced a utility shutoff (also referred to as a disconnection) due to non-payment of utility

COMMUNITY BENEFIT Affordability, Decarbonization KEYWORDS Clean energy, Decarbonization, Distributed energy, Electricity, Renters REGION State AFFORDABILITY STRATEGY Residential Decarbonization OVERSIGHT Utility Commission POLICY MECHANISM Legislation, Regulation Why This Matters Essentially all renters are excluded from owning or leasing rooftop solar; in some cases they benefit from programs that support landlord adoption of rooftop solar, but more

COMMUNITY BENEFIT Affordability, shelter, resilience, safety, climate mitigation, green jobs KEYWORDS Housing, utility bills, renters, energy transition, greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, disaster preparedness, assistance REGION Local, State, Federal AFFORDABILITY STRATEGY Decarbonization OVERSIGHT State housing agencies, U.S. Departments of Energy and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) POLICY MECHANISM Legislation Why This Matters Weatherization is an