MEEA Policy Insider - March 2022

The MEEA Policy Insider summarizes the latest state policy activity and provides new resources to aid members in their outreach, education and advocacy initiatives.

In this issue:

 

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Legislative

On September 15, Governor Pritzker signed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, a bill that establishes a power sector decarbonization target of 2045, creates clean energy workforce development pathways and expands commitments to energy efficiency.

For an in-depth analysis of these key energy efficiency pieces of the bill, read MEEA’s blog posts on CEJA and the energy stretch code. 

Regulatory

On March 1, 2021, Illinois investor-owned utilities filed their energy efficiency programs for program years 2022-2025, which were later approved in August. The final orders are linked below. As a result of CEJA’s passage, utilities will be working with the ICC and advocates to incorporate CEJA requirements into these plans over the coming months. Thus far, only ComEd’s revised stipulated agreement and plan have been approved by the ICC.

How to Get Involved

All Illinois EE Stakeholder Advisory Group (SAG) large group and working group meetings will be held via teleconference until further notice. SAG meeting information, COVID-19 updates and documents can be found on the SAG website.

For more information about Illinois or to get more involved, contact Samarth Medakkar.

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Legislative

The Indiana legislature has adjourned, but it is reported that they will be returning on May 24 to address technical corrections and vetoes. 

The 21st Century Energy Policy Development Task Force will schedule additional meetings this summer with its final report on the two-year process due in Fall 2022. The agendas, speaker lists and recordings are available for all past sessions on the Task Force page. 

Regulatory

2022 integrated resource planning has kicked off for Indiana utilities. 

  • I&M submitted its 2021 IRP to the IURC on January 31. Comments can be made at the IURC IRP page through May 2. 
  • AES Indiana (formerly IP&L) continues its IRP public advisory meeting schedule with Meeting #2 on April 12. Registration is not yet available.

Updates from the Commission on IRPs in Indiana will be posted to the IURC’s IRP page. The Draft Directors Reports on the 2021 IRPs are expected in Spring 2022. 

How to Get Involved

IRP meetings are all open to the public. Anyone interested is encouraged to attend. They are typically announced through utility mailing lists. For help finding the utility mailing list sign-up and IRP meeting registration, or for other questions about Indiana, contact Greg Ehrendreich.

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Legislative

Iowa’s legislative session convened on January 10. Several relevant bills are currently under consideration. 

  • SF 2361 & HF 2527: Among the provisions within Governor Reynolds' Workforce Development Omnibus is Section 10, which codifies the IECC 2012 building energy code with 2009 amendments into Iowa law. In doing so, the bill shifts the authority for building energy code updates to the legislature, thus making code updates more difficult. The bills passed subcommittees in the Senate and House Ways and Means Committees. The House bill has been renumbered as HF 2569 and has been placed on the calendar in the House Ways and Means Committee. 
    • To reconcile differences between the House, Senate and Governor’s Office, amendments to this bill, possibly including amendments to the energy code provisions, are likely.  
  • SF 2325: This bill extends authorization of the Iowa Energy Center within the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) through July 1, 2027, and, related to eligibility for the IEDA’s high-quality jobs program and workforce housing tax incentive program, changes the criteria for designating an “economically distressed area.” The bill has been signed by the Governor.  
  • SF 2308: This bill would require landlords to disclose utility costs to prospective renters, including an average unit over the previous year, the cost of similar units in the case of new construction or the cost of similar units owned by the landlord. The bill also requires utilities to share the necessary utility cost information with landlords. The bill was referred to the Senate Commerce Committee on March 24. 

How to Get Involved

For more information about Iowa or to get more involved, contact Samarth Medakkar.

Regulatory

On December 17, Evergy filed its application for an energy efficiency proposal in Kansas under the Kansas Energy Efficiency Investment Act. Testimony in this case is due on April 8. Additionally, the procedural schedule was modified to include a public comment and public hearing period in early May to solicit views from Evergy customers.  

How to Get Involved

For more information about Kansas or to get more involved, contact Samarth Medakkar.

Executive

Governor Beshear and the state’s Energy and Environment Cabinet recently released a new state energy plan, Kentucky Energy, Environment & Economic Development: Designs for a Resilient Economy. The plan outlines community-centric initiatives and design goals for the future of Kentucky’s energy economy. A guiding principle for the plan is to address the energy sector holistically and promote the utilization of all the state’s energy resources, namely energy efficiency and conservation. 

The plan also highlights more specific components, including future incentivization of advanced manufacturing opportunities in key sectors like EVs, rapid apprenticeships and certifications for a skilled workforce and encouragement of resilient, grid-connected buildings. 

Legislative

The Kentucky legislature convened for the 2022 regular session on January 4. Representative Gooch introduced HB 470 relating to the reliability and resiliency of the electric grid. Included in the bill is a requirement for the Public Service Commission to develop rules and procedures to ensure the Commonwealth’s electric grid is reliable and resilient, and to coordinate with regional transmission organizations to institute consistent policies. This bill has remained in Committee since February.

Regulatory

LG&E and KU’s 2021 IRP process is ongoing. Updates can be found through the KY PSC. Comments can be submitted by email to psc.comment@ky.gov including the case number (2021-00393) in the subject line and full name and place of residence in the body. Case-related comments submitted online or by other means become a part of the official case record and are publicly available online. 

How to Get Involved

For more information about Kansas or to get more involved, contact Amanda Caloras.

Executive

The Council on Climate Solutions, created by Governor Whitmer’s fall 2020 executive order, has been working to implement the Governor’s goal of reaching carbon neutrality by mid-century. The Council has created five workgroups: Buildings and Housing; Energy Intensive Industries; Energy Production; Transmission; Distribution and Storage; Natural Working Lands and Forest Products; and Transportation and Mobility. Its draft MI Healthy Climate Plan was released on January 14th, and three public listening sessions were held in January and February. Public comments were due by March 14, with a new draft of the plan due in April. MEEA submitted comments on the draft plan.  

Legislative

Representative Outman recently introduced HB 5619, which would extend the energy waste reduction standard. The standard sunsets for municipal and cooperative utilities at the end of 2021, but this bill would extend the standard to 2026. The bill was referred to committee. 

Additionally, House Democrats introduced HB 5578 (SB 749 in the Senate), which deals with weatherization. Current law states that Michigan must use at least $6 million but no more than 15% of its federal low-income home energy assistance program (LIHEAP) funds for weatherization. The bill mandates that the state spends at least 10% of LIHEAP dollars on weatherization. Because Michigan has spent near the 15% cap, this would effectively increase the amount of LIHEAP funds the state spends on weatherization. The bill was referred to committee. 

Regulatory

MI Power Grid workgroups continue to meet. MPSC Staff released their revised final report for the New Technologies and Business Models workgroup in docket U-20898. After a two-year hiatus, the Interconnection Standards and Worker Safety workgroup has meetings scheduled this spring. More information on the scheduled meetings and workgroup charge can be found here. Additionally, MPSC Staff released their draft recommendations for the Customer Education and Participation workgroup. And lastly, Phase III- Integrated Resource Plan of the Advanced Planning Process workgroup has been meeting the last few months to work on updating the integrated resource plan filing requirements. 

Energy Waste Reduction plans were filed in the fall with the MPSC. DTE and Consumers have both recently reached settlements with intervenors. Their final EWR plans saw substantial increases to the EWR portfolios, along with increased spending in the income-qualified and multifamily sectors. The dockets for the EWR plans can be found here: 

  • U-20875: Consumers Energy Company 
  • U-20876: DTE Electric 
  • U-20877: Indiana Michigan Power Company 
  • U-20878: Northern States Power Company 
  • U-20879: Upper Peninsula Power Company (UPPCO) 
  • U-20880: Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation (UMERC) 
  • U-20881: DTE Gas 
  • U-20882: Michigan Gas Utilities Corporation 
  • U-20883: SEMCO Energy Gas Company 

How to Get Involved

For more information about Michigan or to get more involved, contact Maddie Wazowicz.

Executive

The Minnesota Climate Change Subcabinet has released its draft Climate Action Framework and is looking for feedback. The Subcabinet also announced that there will be six workgroups to refine the framework. The six groups are clean transportation, climate-smart natural and working lands, resilient communities, clean energy and efficient buildings, healthy lives and communities and clean economy. MEEA is participating on the clean energy and efficient buildings workgroup. More information on these workgroups and the links for each group’s survey can be found here. 

Legislative

The Minnesota legislature reconvened on January 31st. Several bills that touch on energy efficiency have been introduced, with some having hearings: 

  • HF 831- This bill was introduced last year but was recently amended. It would now allow municipalities to adopt the newest commercial model building energy code ASHRAE 90.1 while the state goes through its lengthy process to update its code.  
  • HF 3320/ SF 3397- This bill would allow Minnesotans to qualify for tax credits on qualified climate action expenditures, including heat pump water heaters, smart thermostats and induction ranges. 
  • HF 3897- This bill would make a one-time appropriation (amount to be determined) to fund electric panel upgrades, with an emphasis on low-income households. Electric panel upgrades are often needed prior to installing electric vehicle chargers or other electrified appliances. 
  • HF 3905- This bill would make a one-time appropriation of $60 million from the federal recovery fund to provide grants for pre-weatherization measures for low-income households. 10% of the funds can be used for workforce recruitment and training. 

During last session, the Minnesota legislature passed the Energy Conservation and Optimization (ECO) Act, which modernizes and expands the state’s energy efficiency framework, the Conservation Improvement Program. Additionally, the legislature passed an energy omnibus bill in a summer special session, which had many elements that dealt with energy efficiency. 

Regulatory

The ECO Act tasked the Department of Commerce with forming several pieces of guidance. Commerce convened a stakeholder process to help determine energy efficiency program eligibility for low-income customers in multifamily buildings. It has also created the ECO Act Implementation Coordinating Committee and three workgroups—electric vehicle sales, load management and efficient fuel-switching—where stakeholders provided ideas and draft guidance for consideration. The electric vehicle sales group submitted its draft proposal in early December, and Commerce has since finalized its decision. Commerce submitted its final decision on the remaining statutory requirements—multifamily housing low-income eligibility, pre-weatherization measures, load management and efficient fuel-switching—on March 15. All of these guidelines are in Docket 21-837, except for the multifamily guidance, which is in Docket 22-41.  

The investor-owned utilities have also submitted modifications to their triennial CIP plans to comply with the new low-income spending requirements of the ECO Act. These modifications were finalized in mid-February. 

The PUC has opened a few dockets to fulfil requirements in legislation that passed this session. 

  • Docket 21-565- The PUC will evaluate changes to natural gas utility regulatory and policy structures needed to meet or exceed Minnesota’s greenhouse gas emissions reductions goals. 
  • Docket 21-566- Natural gas utilities will have the opportunity to present the commission with plans to study and utilize alternative and innovative energy resources, like renewable natural gas, biogas and hydrogen.  
  • Great Plains Institute led stakeholder meetings on this docket. The meetings aimed to help Commerce understand how to evaluate the cost effectiveness of renewable natural gas and other resources, including energy efficiency. 
  • CenterPoint Energy submitted its proposed Natural Gas Innovation Act framework. Comments on this framework were due by February 25 and reply comments due by March 18. 
  • Docket 21-548- The Minnesota Efficient Technology Accelerator (META) program seeks nonprofits to apply to run the accelerator, which will accelerate the deployment and reduce cost of efficient technologies. CEE filed its intent to apply in this docket. CEE and the Department of Commerce are hosted a webinar on META on March 10. 

How to Get Involved

For more information about Minnesota or to get more involved, contact Maddie Wazowicz.

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Executive

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources – Division of Energy (MoDNR-DE) announced workgroups for initiatives that will move forward in the Missouri State Energy Planning (MoSEP) process. Formal workgroups will work toward summary and action reports for Cycle 1 while exploratory workgroups will further develop initiatives for consideration during Cycle 2. Meetings focused on refining proposed initiatives and identifying champions. In the early part of 2022, MoDNR will develop workgroups based on priorities shared during meetings. Email mostateenergyplan@dnr.mo.gov to join specific workgroups listed below. Interested parties are encouraged to engage through meetings and the project’s Basecamp, which can be accessed by reaching out to staff’s email. 

On January 12, the Commission approved Evergy's suite of Transportation Electrification pilot programs designed to spur electric vehicle adoption. The programs are expected to be offered in the second quarter of 2022 and include rebates for level two charging installation, special rates for electric buses and expansion of Evergy's Clean Charge Network to include a streetlight charging project.

On December 15, the Commission issued an order approving Liberty-Empire Utilities' application for energy efficiency programs under the Missouri Energy Efficiency Investment Act. The stipulation and agreement that was approved includes one year of programs for 2022-2023. Liberty intends to use this first cycle to build momentum towards a subsequent 3-year portfolio. The proposed plan includes programs for the residential, commercial, industrial and income qualified sectors. Full descriptions of programs can be found in exhibit A of the stipulation and agreement.

Formal Workgroups:  

  • Streamlining Solar Permitting (All Regions) 
  • Electric Vehicles (Southwest, Kansas City) 
  • Residential Energy Efficiency Real Estate Valuation/Energy Efficiency on the Multiple Listing Service (Central, Kansas City) 
  • Energy Training and Installation at Schools (Southeast) 
  • Missouri Metals and Battery Storage (Southwest, Southeast) 
  • Knowledge Exchange (Southwest, Kansas City Regions) 

Exploratory Workgroups: 

  • Biofuels (Central, Southeast, North) 
  • Renewable Natural Gas and Hydrogen Hub (North) 
  • Commercial Building Energy Efficiency Education (Kansas City) 
  • Combined Heat and Power (Central, Southwest, St. Louis) 
  • Industrial Assessment Center Outreach, Awareness and Education (Southwest, St. Louis, Kansas City) 
  • Pay As You Save ® Financing Outreach and Education (North) 

Regulatory

Evergy filed an application to extend its Cycle 3 energy efficiency programs under the Missouri Energy Efficiency Investment Act (MEEIA) through 2023. Evergy proposes extending programs to allow for a potential study to inform their Cycle 4 filing and provide for clarity from their 2021 IRP filing. Staff objected to the application for extension of programs to provide for more time to analyze the application and address concerns. Those concerns include the establishment of a new income-eligible single-family program, continuation of pilot programs (PAYS ® and Urban Heat Island), transitioning pilots to permanent programs, streamlining EM&V and Evergy’s earnings opportunity. A procedural schedule was filed on March 24. 

How to Get Involved

For more information about Missouri or to get more involved, contact Samarth Medakkar. 

Legislative

House Bill 389 (Leland, Seitz) would permit voluntary EE portfolios by the electric distribution utilities, allowing for cost recovery and for the proposal of incentives and lost revenues. It contains provisions for low-income program funding, a 0.5% annual electric energy savings target, a cost cap and an all customer opt-out provision. 

  • Status: Sub HB 389 was reported out of committee in November. There has been no movement on this bill and it is unclear if/when it will come to a floor vote. 

The Ohio Energy Jobs & Justice Act (House Bill 429) would renew the repealed EE standard as an Energy Waste Reduction (EWR) standard that ramps up to the previous target of 22% cumulative savings. It would also create a statewide collaborative to facilitate the EWR planning process, a cabinet-level Office of Energy Justice and a carbon reduction plan for the state, among other provisions. 

  • Status: The bill is in committee. There has been no movement on this bill since October. 

Senate Bill 307, Accelerating Ohio’s Auto Industry, was introduced at a press conference on February 16. It would promote the production and adoption of electric vehicles in the state. 

  • Status: The bill was referred to committee on March 16. 

Regulatory

PUCO has begun its series of energy efficiency workshops to “solicit the views of stakeholders on whether cost-effective energy efficiency programs are an appropriate tool to manage electric generation costs, and how those fit into Ohio’s competitive electric and natural gas marketplaces.” The five workshops will continue through the beginning of April, focusing on different customer segments for each workshop as noted below. Public comments from interested parties have been posted for a series of 14 questions on EE policy, portfolio and program design and other aspects of EE and DR delivery.  

All workshops are streamed live on the PUCO YouTube Channel 

  • March 9 – Business sector, part 1
  • March 22 – Electric & natural gas industries
  • March 23 – Consumer sector
  • March 30 – Business sector, part 2
  • April 6 – Environmental sector
    • MEEA is scheduled to speak at this workshop

How to Get Involved

For more information about Ohio or to get more involved, contact Greg Ehrendreich.

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Executive

The Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy is currently working on finalizing a clean energy plan which will help Wisconsin adapt to future changes in the climate as mandated by Governor Evers’ executive order. Additionally, this plan will outline ways for the state to achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. MEEA is participating on the plan’s advisory council. The plan is expected to be released this month. 

Legislative

SB 692 passed both legislative chambers and was signed by Governor Evers on March 11. The law expands the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program in Wisconsin by allowing energy reliability improvements, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, weather-related resiliency projects and stormwater control measures to access commercial PACE financing. The law also streamlines some application processes and expands building eligibility. 

Building off of the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change, a coalition of Wisconsin legislators unveiled a package of 22 bills pertaining to energy and the environment this session. Many of these bills would impact energy efficiency and Focus on Energy, including: 

  • AB 798: School weatherization and energy efficiency grants 
  • AB 795: On-bill financing 
  • AB 793: Focus on Energy funding increase 
  • AB 792: Focus on Energy low-income program 
  • AB 789: Climate change local planning 
  • AB 786: Commercial and residential stretch codes 
  • AB 784: Green jobs training grants 
  • AB 782: Energy innovation grant program 

The majority of these 22 bills did not receive a hearing this legislative session, though it’s possible some could resurface later. 

Regulatory

The Wisconsin PSC issued a Notice of Investigation in Docket 5-EI-158 to consider the commission’s role in the state’s transition to zero-carbon electricity generation. MEEA’s response to this docket can be found here. At the PSC’s September 2 meeting, the commissioners voted to consider some of the recommendations on resource planning and energy efficiency in the upcoming Strategic Energy Assessment and Quadrennial Planning process. 

The commissioners also voted to hold a workshop on performance-based regulation, which included discussions on energy affordability. The workshop was held on January 11. Presentations from the meeting (including MEEA’s) can be found in the docket. Next steps were not announced at the meeting, but any future activity will also appear in the docket. 

The Commission ruled on the initial scope for the Quadrennial Planning process in Docket 5-FE-104 on December 2. In that ruling, the PSC outlined which policy topics will be covered in each phase of the Quad Plan process. PSC Staff released their memo on March 8 on the following macro policies: 

  • Alignment of Focus performance goals and program offerings with decarbonization goals 
  • Electrification programs and offerings 
  • Programs and offerings for low-income customers 
  • Collaboration between Focus and Utility Demand Response Programs 
  • Utility Voluntary Programs 

Comments on this phase of the Quad Plan are due March 31 in Docket 5-FE-104. 

How to Get Involved

For more information about Wisconsin or to get more involved, contact Maddie Wazowicz.

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Executive

On December 3, the Department of Energy released a pre-publication version of its proposed rule on efficiency standards for general service lamps (GSLs) under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The agency determined that the 45 lm/W efficiency standard for sales of GSLs was triggered. Interested parties submitted comments on the proposed rule through January 27. If the ruling is finalized, it would effectively codify the transition of sales of virtually all bulbs to LEDs, excluding certain lamps for special purposes. A ruling has not been issued. 

How to Get Involved

For more information about Federal issues or to get more involved, contact Stacey Paradis.

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