How to bring more residential customers into the energy efficiency fold is a problem utilities and regulators have long sought to address, as traditional methods have left large customer segments underserved.
Renters have little incentive to make efficiency investments in properties they don’t own, and lower-income customers often lack the credit qualifications to get financing needed to execute projects that could deliver significant savings. While utilities have made strides in reaching commercial accounts and residential customers focused on clean energy, the inability to reach into other classes mean millions of homes are more inefficient than they could be — raising utility costs for the entire rate base.
