The Minnesota Department of Commerce and Minnesota Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA) Coalition hosted a series of five virtual meetings between January 2023 and April 2023 for participants to learn about investor-owned utilities’ plans for their energy efficiency programs, with a focus on under-resourced customers, renters, and multifamily housing residents.
During the series of workshops, participants:
- Learned about the Conservation Improvement Program (CIP) framework (also called the “Energy Conservation and Optimization” (ECO) framework) and the triennial planning process that utilities were undertaking in Minnesota;
- Discussed solutions and provided recommendations to utilities on their energy efficiency programs—with a focus on their “Low-Income” programs—ahead of their draft three-year energy efficiency plans (due June 30, 2023). These plans help inform and guide how utilities design and invest in their energy efficiency programs for the next three years;
- Learned about three new areas for utilities in energy efficiency planning, e.g. funding pre-weatherization measures, supporting efficient “fuel-switching,” and considering what a financial incentive mechanism to encourage more investments for under-resourced customers could look like; and
- Heard directly from investor-owned utilities (e.g. Xcel Energy, Otter Tail Power, Minnesota Energy Resources, CenterPoint Energy, and Minnesota Power) on their draft Triennial Plans, and provided direct feedback to those plans.
These workshops comprise “Phase I” of an effort to build an inclusive space for non-utility participants to learn and influence and eventually design solutions that increase access to energy efficiency programs for under-served customers (e.g. under-resourced, renters, multifamily housing residents, and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color customers). “Phase II” planning is underway, and will consist of a permanent space for such discussions to take place.
Webinar Recordings
Each virtual meeting was recorded (though some are partial recordings), and all are posted along with slides at the links below:
January 26, 2023 | Meeting #1 – CIP Planning for “Low-Income+” Workshops Kick Off meeting
The Minnesota Department of Commerce and Minnesota Energy Efficiency for All (EEFA) Coalition hosted a virtual kick-off meeting for anyone who wanted to learn about the utility energy efficiency framework in Minnesota and how to improve low-income programs.
Video:
Slides:
February 28, 2023: Meeting #2 – Emerging Themes Discussion
The second meeting in the series is a continued discussion on Minnesota utilities’ energy efficiency programs.
Video:
Slides:
March 30, 2023: Meeting #3 – Subtopic Deep Dives
For the third meeting in the Conservation Improvement Program (CIP) “Low-Income”+ Workshop series, participants heard from experts on the topics of efficient fuel-switching, financial incentives for utilities, and pre-weatherization measures, with time for discussion on each topic afterward.
Video:
Slides:
April 17, 2023: Meeting #4 – Utility Feedback Forum #1
The workshops series shifted to hosting utilities as they presented their proposals for their upcoming three-year efficiency draft plans (due June 1, 2023), with a focus on serving under-resourced customers, multifamily housing, and renters.
Video:
April 25, 2023: Meeting #5 – Utility Feedback Forum #2
After three meetings focused on understanding the opportunities and challenges of the utility energy efficiency space among participants, the CIP “Low Income+” Workshops series shifted to hosting utilities as they presented their proposals for their upcoming three-year efficiency draft plans (due June 1st), with a focus on serving under-resourced customers, multifamily housing, and renters.
Video:
