MEEA Policy Insider - April 2025

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

Register for our upcoming webinar State Appliance Standards: The Best Energy Saving Policy You've Never Heard Of on June 5 to learn more about what appliance standards are and why they're so important.

 In this issue: 

Illinois banner

Legislative

The 3rd reading deadline to pass a bill out of its chamber of origin was April 11, and successful bills, for the most part, are now in the second chamber. The session must adjourn by May 31. There are several bills MEEA is tracking: 

Energy efficiency related bills:

  • SB 2473/HB 3779 (Sen. Cunningham/Rep. Williams) would create the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (CRGA). This bill is proceeding via an omnibus process that includes negotiations between stakeholders and legislators. Omnibus bills are not subject to the April 11 3rd reading deadline and negotiations are ongoing. CRGA aims to strengthen the power grid and deliver ratepayer savings with clean energy resources including both electric and gas energy efficiency. 
    • The changes to electric EE include a new 2% annual savings goal for both ComEd and Ameren, an increase to utilities’ minimum spending on income-qualified programs, an increase in 2027 to utilities’ spending cap to achieve the more aggressive savings goals, and an adjustment to the utilities’ Return on Equity (ROE) to the current ICC approved level in the utility’s grid plan. 
    • The changes to gas EE include gradually increasing the annual savings goal to 1% of sales by 2029 with an average measure life of 12 years (similar to electric EE), only allowing utilities to count savings from the installation of a new gas appliance through income-eligible programs where it is determined a replacement appliance is urgently needed, requiring 67% of gas EE budgets to go towards building envelope improvements, requiring utilities to spend at least 25% on income-qualified programs and at least 80% of that spending must be on whole home weatherization and other building envelope improvements. CRGA also adds a performance incentive for gas utilities. 
  • HB 1612 (Buckner) would create the Illinois Appliance Standards Act. This bill directs the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to adopt minimum efficiency standards for covered products. This bill has been referred to the House Energy and Environment Committee. The bill did not receive a hearing by the March 21 committee deadline and is likely dead, unless the bill gets added to a different energy omnibus bill. 
  • HB 3525 (Williams) would create the Clean & Healthy Buildings Act (CBHA) requiring gas utilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The CBHA contains substantively the same gas EE provisions as CRGA but does not address electric EE. The bill was referred to the House Public Utilities Committee, but did not receive a hearing by March 21 and is likely dead.  
  • HB 3381 (Mason) would amend the School Code to create a duty of the regional superintendent of schools to inspect and approve school building plans and specifications for energy conservation measures. The bill was never assigned to a substantive committee and will not move forward this session. 
  • HB 3650 (Lilly) would amend the Energy Transition Act to create a statewide navigator program to provide information about building electrification, energy efficiency program and upgrades, resources about financing and funding and a contractor list. An amended version of the bill passed out of the House Public Utilities Committee on March 19 and passed out of the House on April 8. The amendment removed provisions that would have made changes to the Energy Transition Act and the Public Utilities Act leaving only the provisions creating the statewide navigator program. The bill received a first reading in the Senate on April 14 and has been referred to the Senate Assignments Committee. 

Building energy codes bills:

  • HB 3312 (Canty) would create the Utility Data Access Act. This Act would require investor-owned utilities to retain monthly billed energy consumption data for at least 15 years and provide the past two years of data to building owners at their request to assist owners with energy benchmarking. The bill passed out of the House on April 10 and received its first reading in the Senate on April 14.  Read MEEA’s comments on the bill here.
  • SB 1179 (Cunningham) would amend the Energy Efficient Buildings Act to make changes regarding insulation in attics to the Illinois Energy Code directly in statute. The bill was assigned to the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Commission and has not received a hearing; however, on March 21 the Senate extended the committee deadline for the bill to April 4. As such, it is still possible for the bill to advance this session.
  • SB 2491 (Cunningham) would amend the Energy Efficient Buildings Act to adjust the timeline by which the Capital Development Board creates and adopts the stretch energy code. The bill was assigned to the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Commission and has not yet received a hearing; however, on March 21 the Senate extended the committee deadline for the bill to April 4. As such, it is still possible for the bill to advance this session.

Other notable bills:

  • HB 1802 (Mason) would amend the Public Utilities Act to require any public service company that is a member of a Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) to report to the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) annually how they voted on any issue that came up for a vote at the RTO. The bill was referred to the House Public Utilities Committee and ultimately sent back to the Rules Committee, making it unlikely to advance this session. 

The Senate schedule is here, and the House schedule is here.

Regulatory

The investor-owned utilities in Illinois filed their 2026-29 EE plans with the ICC on February 28 after a nearly year-long negotiation process with stakeholders. Visit the Stakeholder Advisory Group (SAG) EE Dockets page here for links to each of the dockets containing the plans. 

On February 26 and 27, the ICC concluded Phase 2A of the Future of Gas proceedings and interested workshop participants, including MEEA, presented their perspectives on the decarbonization pathway options explored during Phase 2A. View MEEA’s comments here. On March 17, the ICC held the first Decarbonization Pathways Working Group meeting to kick off Phase 2B of the proceedings. The Working Group had a productive discussion with ICC staff where several stakeholders requested that the ICC commission a pathways study. Since this meeting, all subsequently planned meetings of the Decarbonization Pathways Working Group have been canceled while ICC staff consider the request for a pathways study. Meanwhile, the Pilots Working Group has held meetings and continues its work as planned. Meeting materials for past Phase 2A workshops can be found here, but the Phase 2B working group meeting materials are not posted.

How to Get Involved

For more information about Illinois or to get more involved, contact Kit White. 

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Legislative

Session adjourned sine die on April 25. Some notable energy bills this session include:

  • In a last-minute move, language prohibiting the passage or enforcement of municipal energy benchmarking ordinances was added to HB 1389 (Pressel) in conference committee. The bill would eliminate Indianapolis’s benchmarking program and prohibit any other municipalities from requiring building owners and operators to track and report energy and water usage. The bill passed out of the House but failed in the Senate on April 24. 
  • HB 1007 (Soliday), the omnibus energy generation bill, has been passed by the Senate and concurred by the House.
  • SB 178 (Buck, Koch) would define natural gas and propane as a “clean energy” or “green energy” for the purposes of any state or federal program that funds or incentivizes said projects. This is similar to provisions in a law that was passed in Ohio in 2023. The bill was signed into law as Public Law 46 on April 10.
  • SB 310 (Zay) would allow the Department of Administration to put out an RFP for an energy audit of the state capitol building and the Indiana government center buildings. The bill was sent to House Ways and Means at the end of March and made no further progress.

All filed bills can be found here.

Regulatory

The IURC is conducting a study of performance-based ratemaking, as required by 2023 legislation. A stakeholder survey will inform the commission’s consultants as they continue research and drafting for a future report. No future dates for this process have been shared.

CenterPoint filed its 2025-2027 Demand Side Management Plan in Cause 46100 at the end of July 2024. The Final Order of March 26 approves a settlement agreement, concluding the issues in the case. The plan has an estimated cost of $47.5 million over the duration of the plan, with approximately 119.2 million kWh in electricity savings. 

The current integrated resource planning (IRP) processes in Indiana are:

  • Indiana-Michigan Power (AEP) – The IRP process has concluded and public comments are now being accepted on the I&M 2024 IRP. Comments are due June 26.
  • Indiana Municipal Power Agency (IMPA) – The Draft Director’s Report on IMPA’s 2023 IRP has been posted and the comment period on the draft has closed. The utility submitted its response to the draft report and the upcoming final Director’s Report will finalize the process. 
  • AES Indiana has begun its 2025 IRP process, and meetings will continue approximately bi-monthly through October 2025. Meeting materials and agenda will be uploaded at the above link. Meeting 2 was postponed to allow for relevant legislative matters (i.e., HB 1007) to be resolved. 

Updates from the Commission on integrated resource plans in Indiana will be posted to the IURC’s IRP page.

How to Get Involved

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

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Legislative

The first funnel deadline was March 7, requiring bills to be reported out of the committees of their chamber of origin. The next funnel deadline passed on April 4, and the 110th day of the session is May 2. These are the notable bills brought to the legislative agenda: 

  • HF 834/SF 585: This bill covers the Governor’s energy priorities involving electric power generation, energy storage, transmission facility ratemaking, tariffs for public utility innovation programs, land restoration standards, the right of first refusal, energy infrastructure revolving loan programs, creating regulations for anaerobic digesters and much more. 
    • The bill defines a new process for utility resource planning. The proposed process would require rate-regulated utilities to submit a resource plan at least once every five years that considers “all reasonable resources” and includes “supply resources and conservation and management of demand.” Resource plans shall include programs approved in the utilities’ most recent energy efficiency plans. The bill sets forth an uncontested, but docketed, proceeding in which the Iowa Utilities Commission may offer recommendations for the utility’s next resource plan.
    • HF 834 was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee and assigned to subcommittee.  
    • SF 585 was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee and assigned to subcommittee. The subcommittee recommended passage on March 31, and there has been no movement since. 

How to Get Involved

For more information about Iowa or to get more involved, contact Clara Stein. 

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Legislative

The 2025 Kansas legislative session has officially ended. 

These are the notable bills from this session: 

  • SB 51: Provides a sales tax exemption for the construction or remodeling of a qualified data center in Kansas, the purchase of data center equipment and other associated costs to qualified firms that commit to a minimum investment of $250 million and meet new Kansas jobs and other requirements. On March 6, the House Committee on Taxation held a hearing on SB 51; read MEEA’s comments here. SB 51 did not pass during this session; however, many components of SB 51 were repackaged in SB 98 (details below). 
  • SB 98: Authorizes a 20-year sales tax exemption for companies investing in data centers costing at least $250 million, which covers costs to develop, operate and maintain data centers. The tax exemption notably excludes electric generation equipment. Qualifying datacenters would be required to purchase electricity from the public utility providing the region's electric service for 10 years. SB 98 passed the Senate on the last day of the session, after significant debate regarding fair data center incentives that would protect the state’s resources and Kansans’ electric rates. There are no requirements for energy efficiency or water efficiency in SB 98. SB 98 was approved by the Governor on April 24.

How to Get Involved

For more information about Kansas or to get more involved, contact Clara Stein. 

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Kentucky Insider Header

Legislative

Session is adjourned in Kentucky. No energy or utility bills were introduced in the 2025 session.

Regulatory

A Final Order was issued on Kentucky Power‘s application to expand its energy efficiency program in Case 2024-00115.  The order approved the modifications, along with new residential and commercial program pilots. The total budget is about $1.7M annually for 2025-2027.

Duke Energy Kentucky is engaged in integrated resource planning in Case 2024-00197. The procedural schedule has been set. The Staff Report and subsequent comments have been submitted, and the case is expected to close by May 5.

How to Get Involved

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

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Michigan banner

Legislative

The Michigan legislature has returned from its spring break and has been busy. Several energy bills have been introduced, but none directly touch on energy efficiency. Some bills have been introduced to limit or curtail the clean energy standard passed last session, such as by including gas reciprocating internal combustion engine (RICE) plants as a clean energy resource. Additionally, legislators in the respective Energy Committees have been working on a suite of bills pertaining to advancing hydrogen and nuclear energy. 

SB 84 (Hoitenga) would ban local governments from enacting ordinances or building codes that would prohibit gas end uses. The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Local Government on February 12. 

Executive

At the third annual MI Healthy Climate Conference, Governor Whitmer announced that both of the home energy rebate programs have launched statewide. Michigan now joins Wisconsin as the only Midwestern states that have launched both the Home Energy Rebates and Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates statewide.

Regulatory

The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) held its second technical conference on February 11 for the 2025 Michigan Potential Study on Energy Efficiency, Demand Response and Electrification. More information on the potential study can be found here.

MPSC staff held another meeting to discuss the Michigan Integrated Planning Parameters and the Integrated Resource Plan Filing Requirements on March 4. More information on that meeting, as well as links to the draft proposals and comments stemming from both the October and March meetings, can be found here.

How to Get Involved

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

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Legislative

Legislators are currently working on omnibus bill packages for their committees. The House energy omnibus bill, HF 2442, is a ‘lights-on’ bill that just funds base operations for the Department of Commerce and the Public Utilities Commission. This is in large part due to disagreements between the committee co-chairs, as Rep. Swedzinski wants to eliminate the Renewable Development Account which has previously funded projects and programs in the energy omnibus bill. It is possible more programs will be added to the omnibus bill as negotiations continue. The bill currently sits in the House Ways and Means Committee.

The Senate omnibus bill package is SF 2393, which covers energy, utilities, environment and climate. This bill currently sits in the Senate Finance Committee. This bill is considerably larger and includes many bills that were introduced and heard in committee this session. This bill will likely change as negotiations continue, but as it stands includes:

  • Modifications to definitions in the state’s energy policy for data center and low-income customers.
  • Changes to the state’s carbon free mandate by including hydroelectric power of any size, fuel derived from burned wood chips and biodiesel back-up if that facility only uses the fuel for 400 hours or less per year.
  • Sunsets the Renewable Development Account.

Regulatory 

Minnesota utilities filed their required compliance reports detailing 2024 energy conservation and optimization savings and spending. The filings detail if utilities are meeting statutory requirements and provide information on individual EE programs, like participation and budgets. The filings can be found in the utilities’ respective dockets: Xcel Electric, 25-47 and 25-50; Minnesota Power, 25-48; and Otter Tail Power, 25-49. CenterPoint and MERC will file their reports by May 1.

Xcel has announced that the utility will host workshops to finalize its upcoming gas integrated resource plan, which is due to the Commission by July 1, 2026. The first workshop aims to discuss Xcel’s approach to load forecasting and the next steps in developing the IRP. The first meeting will be on May 7 from 1:30 – 3 p.m. CT; registration here. 

The PUC announced that it will hold planning meetings throughout 2025 to better understand issues relating to the future of gas regulation in Minnesota. The PUC intends on opening comment opportunities on its line extension policies (docket 21-565) and gas rate design (docket 23-117). Additionally, the notice outlined potential topics for future meetings, including gas utility winter readiness, renewable natural gas, rate design to support gas/electric hybrid heating systems, fuel alternatives to natural gas derived from conventional geologic sources, sustainable aviation fuel, hydrogen, synthetic methane, green ammonia and thermal energy networks.

How to Get Involved

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

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Legislative

The 2025 Missouri legislative session has now passed its halfway point. The House schedule is here and the Senate schedule is here. 

Several notable bills related to EE are in motion this session, including:

  • SB 4 (Cierpiot) passed through both chambers and was signed by Governor Kehoe on April 9. The 133-page omnibus utility bill, amended to include language from several previous bills, includes a wide range of provisions. The new law will take effect on August 28. The most relevant provisions to EE include:
    • Changing the schedule of integrated resource planning from every 3 years to every 4 years with at least a 16-year planning horizon
    • Requiring electric utilities to demonstrate they have secured and placed on the electric grid an equal or greater amount of reliable electric generation before retiring existing generation, further requiring at least 80% to be “dispatchable” energy (like coal, nuclear or natural gas) rather than improvements like EE
    • Allowing the Public Service Commission (PSC) to contract external experts to review financing orders for energy transition costs
    • Allowing the PSC to approve an alternative residential customer rate based on household utility burden and
    • Allowing the PSC to require electrical corporations to provide annual documentation demonstrating sufficient capacity to meet its obligations.
  • HB 939 (Jones) would prohibit any county or municipality from adopting an ordinance or other policy to require building design and construction practices with the intent to improve sustainability, energy efficiency and environmental responsiveness. In practice, this bill would prohibit jurisdictions from adopting a residential energy code beyond the 2009 IECC. The bill passed the House on March 5. After reported to the Senate, the bill passed the Committee on Local Government, Elections and Pensions on April 17. The bill has now been reported back to the full Senate and is eligible to be brought to the Senate floor for consideration.

Regulatory

The Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) failed to approve a unanimous settlement agreement between parties in the Liberty Utilities docket on energy efficiency and demand side programs under the Missouri Energy Efficiency Investment Act (MEEIA). In docket EO-2025-0124, parties filed a Global Stipulation and Agreement on March 10 outlining five EE and demand response programs. Despite Staff’s recommendation that the Commission approve the agreement, the Commission chose not to approve or deny the agreement, effectively tabling it. On April 10, Liberty withdrew its MEEIA cycle 2 application rather than reattempting to get programs approved in formal docket proceedings.

The MEEIA cycle 4 regulatory processes for Ameren Missouri and Evergy Missouri – the two largest electric investor-owned utilities in the state – have concluded. Read our blog reviewing the dockets and their impact on the future of EE in Missouri. As a part of the settlement agreements, the parties to the dockets agreed to conduct a Statewide MEEIA Feasibility Study to consider state or third-party administrated EE programs as an alternative to the current utility administrated programs. 

How to Get Involved

For more information about Missouri or to get more involved, contact Natalie Newman. 

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Legislative

The 2025 Nebraska Unicameral Legislative session began on January 8, the 90th day of session is June 9. These are the notable bills brought to the legislative agenda: 

  • LB 163: Create the Office of Climate Action. The office would be required to create a state climate action plan, report annually on state climate action, provide technical assistance to localities on climate action and more. The Natural Resources Committee held a hearing for LB 163 on January 30. You can review the transcript here. LB163 did not advance past its first hearing. 
  • LB 317: Merge the Department of Natural Resources with the Department of Environment and Energy and change the name to the Department of Water, Energy and Environment and provide, change and eliminate power and duties. LB 317 was declared a Natural Resources Committee priority bill on March 12 and advanced to final reading with amendment on April 22. Read more about the bill’s trajectory here.
  • LB 450: Change provisions relating to the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Act. This bill would adjust language surrounding the PACE Act to allow grid resiliency projects. The Urban Affairs Committee held a hearing for LB 450 on February 11, but did not advance after its first hearing.
  • LB 459: Establish the Home Weatherization Clearinghouse within the Department of Environment and Energy. This office would coordinate weatherization efforts with providers from across the state. The Natural Resources Committee held a first hearing on February 6. Read MEEA’s comments here and you can watch a recording of the hearing here. LB459 did not advance past its first hearing. 
  • LB 531: Provide an exception to the requirement that buildings constructed with state funds comply with the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). This measure would order the Department of Economic Development to not require new construction projects or rental conversation projects funded through the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to meet 2018 IECC standards (the statewide Energy Code). The Urban Affairs Committee held an initial hearing on February 18. LB 531 was placed on General File on March 17 with an amendment that clarified the role of NDEE in building plan review. 

Regulatory

Lincoln Electric System (LES) is undergoing their Strategic Planning process and just concluded a series of community meetings designed for public input. The public power district is drafting a new mission, vision and values, as well as strategic objective areas. You can follow the planning process here. 

LES is also undergoing significant resource planning in response to new SPP resource adequacy rules finalized and approved by the SPP Board of Directors in August 2024. The updated rules required LES to reevaluate its near-term resource plan, previously determined in the LES IRP from 2022. At the March LES Board meeting, Scott Benson, LES Manager of Resource and Transmission Planning, presented LES’s updated generation models and potential resource acquisition scenarios. In April, Benson provided insights into recommended pathways, and the impact of different resource pathways on LES’s 2040 carbon neutral goal. This is an ongoing process, and the LES Board of Directors will continue discussions at their next Board meeting on May 16.

How to Get Involved

For more information about Nebraska or to get more involved, contact Clara Stein. 

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Legislative

The legislative session began on January 7. Deadlines to introduce new bills were January 20 in the House and January 27 in the Senate. There were no bills directly impacting energy efficiency introduced in either chamber. There are a couple of notable bills that MEEA is tracking:

  • HB 1579 (Novak) would require new data centers to obtain a certificate of “public convenience and necessity” from the Public Service Commission prior to commencing construction. The bill was amended significantly to provide for a legislative management study on the impact of large energy users like data centers. It passed the House on February 24 and was referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on first reading in the Senate on March 7. The bill received a hearing and passed out of the Senate with 0 no votes on April 18. The bill was sent to the Governor’s desk for signature on April 25. 
  • SCR 4015 (Magrum) a Senate Concurrent Resolution seeking to increase the number of commissioners on the North Dakota Public Service Commission from three to five failed in the Senate on February 24. 

How to Get Involved

For more information about North Dakota or to get more involved, contact Kit White. 

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Ohio banner

Legislative

In our last Insider, we indicated that it was unclear whether SB 2 (Reineke) or HB 15 (Klopfenstein) would move forward as the omnibus energy bill for the state. Current reporting indicates that HB 15, which does not include any energy efficiency or demand response provisions in its current form, will be the chosen bill. It is expected to pass the Senate and have a final passage on April 30.

Regulatory

First Energy has filed its sixth Energy Security Plan (“ESP VI”) in case 25-0092-EL-SSO. Testimony shows that the companies propose to spend $15.1 million annually or a total of $36M for the expected 29-month duration of the ESP which would end May 31, 2028. With the pending omnibus energy bill that would, among other provisions, eliminate new ESPs, this case has stalled and is likely to be closed without approval.

How to Get Involved 

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

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Legislative

The South Dakota legislature adjourned sine die on March 14 having processed 489 bills this session. There were no bills introduced that would directly impact energy efficiency. There was one notable bill, HB 1217 (Aylward), that would have required customer consent prior to installation of a smart meter. The bill was referred to House Local Government and deferred to the 41st legislative day essentially defeating the bill.

How to Get Involved

For more information about North Dakota or to get more involved, contact Kit White.  

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Legislative

Session dates for the remainder of the biennial can be found here. There have been only a few bills introduced that touch on energy policy, with none directly impacting energy efficiency. On March 17, Assembly Democrats introduced AB 145, which would task the legislature with creating a viable plan to decrease the state’s carbon emissions by 52% by 2030. This bill is unlikely to pass given the divided legislature.

How to Get Involved

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

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Federal updates

Executive

President Trump’s cabinet secretaries continue signaling a significant shift in federal policy through a variety of agency actions. The administration announced on April 9 that they will alter the definition of ‘showerhead’ in an attempt to roll back the previous definition and efficiency standards for showerheads. This expanded definition would theoretically allow for less efficient showerheads to come to market. On March 24, Secretary Wright announced DOE was postponing the effective date of three new appliance standard rules and officially withdrawing four other federal appliance standards, which include electric motors, ceiling fans, dehumidifiers and external power supplies. Collectively, these orders will dramatically reduce the potential for energy savings. On March 12, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced 31 Deregulatory Actions including a reconsideration of the regulations governing power plants. The EPA has not provided details as to how it plans to weaken these regulations or remove them completely.

Executive Orders

April 30 is President Trump’s 100th day in office, and he has signed a record number of executive orders. You can find the full list here. Conversely, his administration has passed a record low number of bills into law in its first 100 days. This month the executive orders related to the energy sector included:

  • On April 8, President Trump issued the Executive Order (EO) ‘Protecting American Energy from State Overreach.’ Amongst the provisions, the EO instructs the Attorney General to identify all state and local laws “purporting to address climate change” and to stop the enforcement of any laws determined to be illegal. It is unclear how this EO would be enforced given the federal executive branch’s lack of authority over state laws.
  • Also on April 8, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Strengthening the Reliability and Security of the United States Electric Grid.” Amongst the provisions, the EO instructs the Secretary of Energy to identify generation resources that are “critical” and to prevent their disconnection from the electric grid. This EO has to do with the emergency powers granted under the Federal Power Act to order temporary connection of generation resources during times of war or emergency. President Trump, in a previous executive order, declared a national energy emergency. Taken in context with other executive actions, the intention behind this EO is to prevent the planned retirements of fossil fuel burning generation resources. 
  • Also on April 8, President Trump issued another Executive Order called “Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry and Amending Executive Order 1424.” Amongst the provisions, this EO instructs the Secretary of Energy among other cabinet secretaries to identify regulations and programs within their department that seek to transition the U.S. away from coal production and electricity generation. The relevant cabinet secretaries must “consider revising or rescinding” identified regulations. The EO additionally instructs the Secretary of Energy to identify regions where coal powered infrastructure could power AI data centers. 
  • On April 9, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled ‘Zero-based Regulatory Budgeting to Unleash American Energy.’ Amongst the provisions, the EO instructs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Department of Energy and many other regulatory bodies to add provisions to their energy-related regulations so they sunset within five years. The directive covers regulations under numerous federal acts, as listed in the EO. There is some confusion over how this EO can be implemented and will likely be challenged in court.

On April 15, a federal judge issued the clearest ruling so far on the illegality of one of Trump’s most significant day 1 executive orders. The ruling ordered the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy to immediately resume disbursing funds under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). This ruling pertains to the Executive Order entitled “Unleashing American Energy” issued on January 20. The Order immediately paused disbursements of funds under the IIRA and IIJA for at least 90 days. All agencies were ordered to review their processes and policies regarding disbursing funds under these programs to ensure compliance with the policy sections of the Executive Order and submit a report within 90 days to the National Economic Council and the Office of Management and Budget. Prior to the April 15 ruling at least two federal judges had also ruled to block the funding freeze, granting injunctions to 22 states and the District of Columbia. While the original Order continues to cause confusion and delays, states are continuing to implement many programs including Homes and HEAR. 

The Order also revokes a number of executive orders issued under the Biden administration geared towards fighting climate change. 

Regulatory 

Commissioner Willie Phillips has resigned his seat from the FERC. Phillips previously served as the Chair of FERC from June 2023 – January 2025. Phillips’ term was set to expire on June 30, 2026. Once President Trump nominates a replacement for the seat, FERC will have a 3-2 Republican majority.

On February 7, FERC issued an Order in docket ER24-2995 denying Affirmed Energy LLC’s motion for a stay of FERC’s November 5, 2024 order approving PJM’s proposed tariff revisions eliminating energy efficiency resources from its capacity market. On March 13 Affirmed Energy petitioned the Federal Court of the District of Columbia to review FERC’s order. This case proceeds as FERC pursues an investigation against several energy efficiency resource providers including Affirmed Energy and American Efficient in docket IN24-2-000. 

In December FERC issued a notice of proposed penalty against American Efficient and its subsidiaries alleging the company fraudulently takes capacity market payments for energy efficiency without actually influencing customers to save energy and also without measuring or verifying the savings in question. The penalty of $722 million would be the largest in FERC’s history should American Efficient lose this legal battle. American Efficient has vigorously denied FERC’s allegations in its response filed March 19. Both cases will potentially have wide-ranging impacts on how energy efficiency is valued going forward. 

How to Get Involved

Information about a number of federal funding opportunities can be found on the Funding Roundup page of MEEA’s website.

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

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resources

Recent Publications:

Recent Testimony and Comments:​

Recent Blogs:

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