Best practices in developing energy efficiency programs for low-income communities and considerations for clean power plan compliance
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American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
This is the third in a series of papers intended to guide states as they embark on the path to Clean Power Plan (CPP) compliance. As one of many approaches to reducing pollution and complying with the CPP, states and localities can offer energy efficiency programs to low-income households or businesses and community-based organizations that serve low-income communities. This guide discusses some best practices for implementing and evaluating low-income energy efficiency programs and addresses considerations in using them for CPP compliance. It highlights exemplary states as it describes the advantages of various approaches including utility-run low-income programs (single-family and multifamily), weatherization, and energy savings performance contracting. The guide goes on to discuss the suitability of each of these approaches for CPP compliance and ways of measuring their performance. It concludes with strategies for incentivizing low-income efficiency efforts in state CPP compliance plans. These guidelines can be used to create new programs and improve those already in place.