energy afforability POLICY LIBRARY
The Just Solutions Energy Affordability Policy Library includes model policy and regulatory strategies to reduce residential electricity and gas costs. Browse through policy descriptions below, or filter by Affordability Strategy (such as residential building decarbonization), by Keyword, by additional Community Benefits (such as “resilience”), by Policy Mechanism, or by Region (see the Guide for Using the Library). For help getting started, check out our resource on Developing Affordability Policies for Your State.
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| Affordability Strategy | Policies & Regulations | Level | COMMUNITY BENEFIT | KEYWORDS | Description | REGION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funding and Financing, Residential Decarbonization | Inclusive Utility Investments (Including Pay-As-You-Save®) | LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability, Decarbonization | Clean energy, Decarbonization, Distributed energy, Electricity, Efficiency, Financing, Methane gas, Utility bills | Inclusive utility investments provide support for cost-effective energy-saving measures through an energy service charge attached to the site, rather than a loan to the resident. | State |
| Residential Decarbonization | Balcony (Plug-In) Solar | EXECUTIVE, LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability, Decarbonization | Clean energy, Decarbonization, Distributed energy, Electricity, Renters | Balcony or plug-in solar panels provide low-cost, easy-to-install, renter-friendly access to clean energy. | State |
| Household Protections | Percentage-of-Income Payment Plans | EXECUTIVE, LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability | Assistance, Electricity, Methane gas, Utility bills | Percentage-of-Income Payment Plans improve energy affordability by capping utility bills at a percentage of household income. | State |
| Household Protections | Utility Shutoff Protections | EXECUTIVE, LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability, Resilience, Public health, Safety | Disaster preparedness, Shutoffs, Utility bills | Bans on utility shutoffs (disconnections) protect household health and safety, particularly for low- and moderate-income households and other at-risk individuals. | State, Local |
| Residential Decarbonization | Residential Solar (+Storage) Programs | LEGISLATION | Affordability, Resilience, Workforce, Decarbonization, Energy reliability | Clean energy, Decarbonization, Disaster preparedness, Distributed energy, Electricity, Renters, Resilience | Residential solar+storage programs can facilitate the equitable and affordable adoption of these technologies, lower energy costs, and increase climate resilience. | Federal, State, Local |
| Utility Reform: Cost Containment | Protecting Ratepayers from Utility Political Spending | LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability | Utility rates | Prohibitions on using ratepayer funds for utility lobbying and political spending can lower utility bills. | State |
| Household Protections | Arrearage Management Programs and Debt Forgiveness | EXECUTIVE, LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability | Assistance, Utility bills | Arrearage management programs and debt forgiveness can be important tools to assist households struggling to pay rising energy costs. | State |
| Residential Decarbonization | Electrification Readiness | LEGISLATION | Affordability, Workforce, Decarbonization | Clean energy, Decarbonization, Electricity, Electrification, Housing | Electrification readiness programs can facilitate fuel switching by increasing eligibility for electrification programs, thereby reducing cost barriers on needed upgrades. | Federal, State, Local |
| Residential Decarbonization | Efficient Residential Electrification | LEGISLATION | Affordability, Public health, Workforce, Decarbonization | Clean energy, Decarbonization, Distributed energy, Electricity, Electrification, Efficiency, Housing, Utility rates | Programs supporting efficient electrification upgrades can facilitate the equitable and affordable adoption of energy-efficient home electrification, reducing greenhouse gases and in-home emissions of health-damaging air pollutants. | Federal, State, Local |
| Residential Decarbonization, Utility Reform: Energy Transition | Community Solar | LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability, Decarbonization | Clean energy, Decarbonization, Distributed energy, Electricity, Renters | Equitable community solar projects enable households who would not otherwise benefit from solar energy to participate in the clean energy transition. | Local, State |
| Household Protections | Low-Income Rates | LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability | Utility bills, Utility rates | Discounted rates for low-income households can help bring down utility bills. | State |
| Residential Decarbonization | Pre-Weatherization Programs | LEGISLATION | Affordability, Resilience, Housing, Workforce, Decarbonization, Safety | Disaster preparedness, Efficiency, Housing | Accessible, affordable pre-weatherization assistance programs can increase the number of homes meeting the criteria for weatherization, advance equitable access to weatherization, reduce energy cost burdens, and improve resident health and well-being. | Federal, State, Local |
| Residential Decarbonization | Demand Response Programs | LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability, Energy reliability | Distributed energy, Electricity | Demand response programs compensate households for reducing energy use during peak periods while supporting grid reliability. | State, Local |
| Utility Reform: Cost Containment | Limit Utility Investor Return on Equity | LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability | Utility rates | Restricting excessive authorized utility profits, including the rate of return on equity, helps bring down the overall costs of the electricity system. | State |
| Residential Decarbonization, Utility Reform: Energy Transition | Distribution System Interconnection Reform | LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability, Resilience, Decarbonization, Energy reliability | Distributed energy, Electricity, Grid Infrastructure | Regulatory reforms to expedite and equitably prioritize interconnection of distributed energy resources can contribute to affordability, clean energy inclusion, and grid decarbonization. | State |
| Residential Decarbonization | Rental Efficiency Standards | LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability, Resilience, Housing, Workforce, Decarbonization, Safety | Clean energy, Efficiency, Housing, Renters | Rental efficiency standards ensure that renters are not saddled with high bills due to inefficient appliances and unweatherized units. | Local, State |
| Residential Decarbonization | Appliance Efficiency Standards | LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability, Decarbonization | Decarbonization, Efficiency | State action to develop and/or expand, enforce, and provide consumer education about appliance energy efficiency standards can provide additional energy cost savings to consumers and establishes an infrastructure for future state action. | Federal, State |
| Residential Decarbonization | Residential Building Codes | LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability, Resilience, Housing, Public health, Workforce, Safety | Decarbonization, Electrification, Efficiency, Housing | Building codes for residential construction and stronger energy efficiency standards for manufactured housing can enhance energy efficiency, reduce residential utility bills, and increase health and comfort. | Federal, State, Local |
| Funding and Financing | Polluter Pays Strategies | LEGISLATION , LITIGATION | Affordability, Resilience, Public health, Environment, Decarbonization | Air quality, Decarbonization, Fossil fuels, Funding, Remediation, Resilience | Polluter Pays strategies present one pathway for financing climate change planning, preparation, mitigation, response, and recovery without raising taxes or relying on other regressive solutions. | State, Local |
| Household Protections | Bill Credits | EXECUTIVE, LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability | Assistance, Utility bills | Utility bill credits from programs such as cap-and-invest can provide non-ratepayer funding for additional bill assistance. | State |
| Household Protections | LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability | Assistance, Utility bills | Utility bill assistance programs can reduce energy insecurity for millions of people, thereby improving health and welfare outcomes. | Federal, State, Local | |
| Utility Reform: Cost Containment | Cost Containment for Data Centers and Other Major Loads | LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability, Decarbonization | Data centers, Utility rates | Legislation and regulatory oversight can ensure that the energy demands of data centers and other major loads do not result in cost shifting to other commercial and residential ratepayers. | Federal, State, Regional |
| Utility Reform: Accountability | Energy Affordability Drivers and Impacts Study | EXECUTIVE, LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability, Transparency | Utility bills, Utility rates | A baseline study on drivers of high energy costs and the populations most affected by energy cost burdens can help guide energy affordability policy strategy. | Regional, State |
| Utility Reform: Cost Containment, Utility Reform: Energy Transition | Transmission Planning and Interconnection Queue Reform | LEGISLATION , REGULATION , EXECUTIVE, LITIGATION | Affordability, Decarbonization | Clean energy, Electricity, Grid Infrastructure | Improved transmission planning and interconnection queue reform can help accelerate the interconnection of low-cost renewables and energy storage, lower high capacity prices, and bring down system costs. | Federal, State, Regional |
| Funding and Financing | State and Local Taxes for Clean Energy and Climate Resilience Funding | BALLOT, LEGISLATION | Affordability, Resilience, Decarbonization | Clean energy, Decarbonization, Funding | Targeted state or local taxes provide a non-rate funding source for clean energy investments, building decarbonization, and climate resilience. | State, Local |
| Funding and Financing | Green Banks | LEGISLATION , EXECUTIVE | Affordability, Decarbonization | Clean energy, Financing, Decarbonization | Green banks can provide the capital for financing renewable energy investments and building decarbonization projects. | State |
| Household Protections | Progressive Income-Based Fixed Charge | REGULATION , LEGISLATION | Affordability | Utility bills, Utility rates | Progressive income-based fixed charges reduce the fixed charges on utility bills for lower-income customers. | State |
| Residential Decarbonization | Weatherization | EXECUTIVE, LEGISLATION | Affordability, Resilience, Housing, Public health, Workforce, Decarbonization, Safety | Weatherization programs can reduce energy cost burdens, facilitate the transition to clean and efficient energy, reduce peak demand on the electric grid, and improve the health and safety of residents. | Federal, State, Local | |
| Household Protections, Utility Reform: Accountability | Outage Compensation | LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability, Empowerment, Energy reliability | Utility bills | Requiring utilities to provide compensation to their customers for prolonged and/or frequent outages can reduce the financial effects of outages on customers, especially energy-burdened households. | State |
| Utility Reform: Accountability | Utility Billing Transparency | LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability, Empowerment, Transparency | Utility bills | Standardized, transparent utility billing gives households access to the individual components of their utility bills, empowering them to both make smart home energy decisions and to hold utilities accountable. | State |
| Funding and Financing | Cap and Invest | LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability, Decarbonization | Decarbonization, Funding, Resilience | States can develop impactful and equitable regulatory programs that utilize market mechanisms to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while generating revenue for necessary climate and clean energy investments. | State, Regional |
| Utility Reform: Energy Transition, Utility Reform: Cost Containment | Limiting Gas Infrastructure Investments | LEGISLATION , REGULATION | Affordability, Public health, Decarbonization, Safety | Decarbonization, Methane gas | Limiting utility investments in gas infrastructure can protect ratepayers from volatile fossil fuel costs, unnecessary upgrades, and future stranded assets. | Local, State |
| Residential Decarbonization, Utility Reform: Energy Transition | Realizing the Full Value of Distributed Energy Resources | REGULATION , LEGISLATION , EXECUTIVE | Affordability, Decarbonization, Energy reliability, Environment, Public health, Resilience | Clean energy, Distributed energy, Resilience | Fully valuing and compensating distributed energy resources such as solar and storage can optimize their cost-effective integration into the grid. | Utility, State |
Authors
- Elena Krieger, PhD, Senior Director of Research and Policy
- Jennifer Moon, PhD, Senior Researcher
- Lew Daly, Senior Fellow
- Arjun Makhijani, PhD, Senior Fellow
- Sylvia Chi, Legal and Advocacy Director
acknowledgments
The development of this policy library benefitted from many valuable conversations, thoughtful brainstorms, and review from state partners, our national partners in ClimateMax, and energy experts across the country. The Just Solutions team is grateful for their input regarding the strengths and weaknesses of different policies and regulations, suggestions for policy examples, and feedback on the library design as a whole, and the library would not have been possible without their support.
About Just Solutions
Just Solutions is a national climate organization that partners with communities disproportionately impacted by climate change to turn their priorities and ideas into policies and laws. Our goal is to broaden and deepen the understanding and implementation of equitable and effective climate policies and programs at a scale and pace that match the urgency of the climate crisis. Learn more at our website, justsolutionscollective.org.