<< Previous Edition

Next Edition >>

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.

 In this issue: 

• State Updates: IL / IN / IA / KS / KY / MI / MN / MO / NE / ND / OH / SD / WI
• Federal Update
• New Resources & Publications 

Legislative

The legislature reconvened for lame-duck session January 2-7. During lame-duck the General Assembly passed HB 0587, which includes some provisions from the Clean & Reliable Grid Act (SB 3637; introduced during the 103rd General Assembly last year). HB 0587, however, did not include any of the electric energy efficiency provisions from SB 3637.

The 104th General Assembly was sworn in on January 8. The new bill introduction deadline was February 7, and 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). 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. The Act 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. 
• 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. 
• 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. 
• 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.

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.
• 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.
• 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. 
• HB 1849 (Spain) would amend the Energy Efficient Buildings Act to say that "Code" means the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) rather than the "latest published version". The Energy Efficient Buildings Act requires Illinois to adopt the latest version of the IECC, which is currently the 2024. This bill would set Illinois’ Building Energy Code back to a less efficient version of the Code and hold it there.

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. 
• HB 1544, HB 1545, HB 1546, HB 1547 (McCombie) this suite of bills would extend emission reduction deadlines for certain electric generating units and large emitters by 5 years in certain cases and 10 years in others. The Climate & Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) of 2021 set many of these deadlines by which certain emitters must achieve reduced or zero carbon dioxide emissions. Several CEJA deadlines begin in 2030 and would be pushed back to 2035 and 2040 under these bills. 
• HB 2768 (Haas) would prohibit counties and municipalities from banning end use natural gas in new construction without a referendum. 

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

Regulatory

The ICC released final orders in dockets 24-0238 and 24-0181 on December 19 accepting Ameren and ComEd’s refiled multi-year integrated grid plans. The ICC rejected both plans in 2023, ordering Ameren and ComEd to refile.

In the final order approving Ameren’s refiled multi-year integrated grid plan, the ICC reduced Ameren’s $1 billion spending proposal to roughly $365 million in system improvement investments. In the final order approving ComEd’s refiled multi-year integrated grid plan, the ICC reduced ComEd’s proposed spending plan from $2 billion to $1.5 billion in system improvement investments. 

The ICC hosted the last workshop in Phase 2A of the Future of Gas proceedings on January 27. The workshop featured presentations on carbon capture, utilization and storage, combined heat and power, and additional decarbonization technologies. Comments on Phase 2A were due February 5 and can be viewed here. View MEEA’s comments here. On February 26 and 27, interested workshop participants, including MEEA, presented their perspectives on the decarbonization pathway options explored during Phase 2A. Meeting materials for all past workshops can be found here. 

There are no upcoming SAG meetings scheduled, as intervening stakeholders are currently engaged in private negotiations with utilities. Information about upcoming SAG meetings can be found here.

How to Get Involved

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

Back to top

Legislative

Session reconvened on January 8. Session is anticipated to adjourn sine die on April 24 (and must adjourn by April 29). Session schedules can be found here: Senate; House.

The committee report deadline was February 17, and all bills that did not pass out of committee are dead. Second reading deadline was February 19 and bills must have passed out of their originating chamber on third reading by February 20. Any bill that was not sent to the other chamber by that time is now dead.

The priority energy bill for the majority caucus this session is HB 1007 (Soliday). Among other provisions, this omnibus energy generation bill includes modifications to integrated resource planning requirements for reporting planned plant retirements including authorizing the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) to prohibit retirements if they determine it is necessary for reliability. The bill was amended in committee to add several definitions that were missing in the introduced version and to make a few minor language corrections. The bill passed third reading on February 13 with a vote of 67-25 and the engrossed bill has been referred to the Senate.

Other energy and utility bills of note include:

• SB 178 (Buck, Koch) would define natural gas 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 amended to replace “propane” with “propane, wind energy, solar energy, photovoltaic cells and panels, hydropower, fuel cells, hydrogen, geothermal energy, and nuclear energy.” The bill passed third reading on 2/17 with a vote of 43-4 and the engrossed bill has been referred to the House.
• 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 unamended bill passed third reading on 2/3 with a vote of 49-0 and has been referred to the House.
• SB 97 (Jackson) would prohibit utilities from disconnecting customers under certain conditions, deauthorize charging interest on delinquent accounts, and prohibit fees to be reconnected. The bill would also require quarterly reporting of disconnection data by utilities and for the IURC to summarize utility reports in their annual reporting. The bill did not pass committee and is dead.
• HB 1301 (Errington) would require utilities to report to the IURC on their votes at any meeting of a committee, user group, task force, or other body of a regional transmission organization (RTO), and the IURC to summarize these votes in their annual report. The bill did not pass committee and is dead.

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. An Interim Order of December 30 allows the utility to continue their current DSM portfolio until such time as a final order is made, which will be by March 31.

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

• Indiana-Michigan Power (AEP) – The IRP process has one remaining stakeholder meeting on March 5. The IRP due date was extended a second time by the IURC to March 28.
• NIPSCO – NIPSCO’s 2024 IRP has been submitted to the IURC and can be downloaded on the IURC IRP page. Comments are due by March 10, and should be sent to the Director of Research, Policy, and Planning, Dr. Bradley Borum, at bborum@urc.in.gov.
• 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 the first stakeholder meeting will be held on January 29. Meeting #2 will be in late March/early April, and meetings will continue approximately bi-monthly through October 2025.

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. 

Back to top

Legislative

The 91st Iowa General Assembly convened its annual session on January 13. View the 2025 Iowa legislative session timetable here.

Bill introduction began on January 21. Bills must be reported out of the committees of their chamber of origin by March 7. These are the notable bills brought to the legislative agenda: 

• HSB 123/SSB 1112: 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 component of this wide bill that engages with energy efficiency is Section 6, which 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. HSB 123 passed out of the House Committee on Commerce.
  • On February 12, the Senate Commerce Committee Subcommittee recommended passage of SSB 1112. 
• SF 373 (Kilmesh): This bill offers an alternative method for resource planning. SF 373 would require rate-regulated utilities to file an integrated resource plan with the Commission every three years. The Commission would have the authority to approve, modify or deny each plan within ten months of filing and review each plan as a contested case proceeding. This proposal would require utilities to include information from the most recent commission-approved energy efficiency plans but not evaluate demand side resources within the same framework/model as generation side resources. SF 373 was referred to the Commerce Committee. 

How to Get Involved

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

Back to top

Legislative

The Kansas legislature convened its annual session on January 13. The Kansas Legislature’s “turnaround day,” or the last day for a chamber to consider non-exempt bills in their house of origin, was February 20.

These are the notable bills brought to the legislative agenda thus far: 

• 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 $250,000,000 and meet new Kansas jobs and other requirements. The Committee on Commerce recommended the bill be passed on February 13, and the Senate voted 34-6 to pass SB 51 on February 19.
• SB 93: Changes the current procedure for Kansas Corporation Commissioners selection, from the current procedure of governor appointment to statewide election. SB 93 did not move prior to “turnaround day.” MEEA will continue to monitor if this language reappears in another bill further into the session.
• SB 170: Authorizes the Kansas Corporation Commission to make recommendations regarding energy efficiency standards for buildings. SB 170 did not move prior to “turnaround day.” MEEA will continue to monitor if this language reappears in another bill further into the session.

How to Get Involved

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

Back to top

Legislative

Session Part I convened on January 7 for four legislative days. Session Part II convened on February 4 for 30 legislative days. Session will adjourn sine die on March 28. The session calendar can be found here: 2025 Regular Session

No energy or utility-related bills have been introduced in either the House or Senate. 

Regulatory

Kentucky Power filed an application to expand its energy efficiency program in Case 2024-00115. An evidentiary hearing was held on December 19. Final briefs were due by January 22 and the case will be submitted for decision in February. As of the time of writing, no final order has been issued.

Duke Energy Kentucky is engaged in integrated resource planning in Case 2024-00197. The procedural schedule has been set. Staff report is due on March 24, with party comments through April 7.

Duke Energy Kentucky was approved to amend its ongoing DSM plan in Case 2024-00264 by final order on December 30. The case expanded the scope and adjusted budgets across a suite of programs for the remainder of the 2024-2025 biennium. Duke’s peak time rebate pilot has been deferred to Duke’s rate case in Case 2024-00354.

How to Get Involved

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

Back to top

Executive

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy released its MI Healthy Climate – 2024 Report. The report outlines progress the state has made toward achieving the goals laid out in the MI Healthy Climate Plan, which was issued in 2022. The status report highlights many accomplishments in the energy efficiency sector, like securing funding in the state budget for pre-weatherization and federal funding for energy efficiency retrofits.

Legislative

The Michigan legislature kicked off its new session on January 8. Here are the session schedules for the House and the Senate. The House has made the Energy Committee and the Communications and Technology Committees two separate committees; prior to this session, they were merged.

• 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. 

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 also announced that the next meeting to discuss the Michigan Integrated Planning Parameters and the Integrated Resource Plan Filing Requirements will be held on March 4. More information on that meeting, as well as links to the draft proposals and comments stemming from the October meeting, can be found here.

How to Get Involved

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

Back to top

Legislative

Both Minnesota legislative chambers are back to work after parties in the House agreed to a power-sharing agreement. Dozens of energy-related bills have been introduced, though most have not yet received a hearing.

• SF 1433 (Mathews, Green) would require customers to opt-in and provide consent when a utility implements a time-of-use rate structure. 
• SF 486/HF 771 would appropriate funds for a new supplemental energy assistance grant program. 
• SF 701 (Lucero, Gruenhagen, Bahr) would require utilities to obtain consent from customers when installing a smart meter.
• SF 466 and SB 467 (Mathews) would restrict municipalities from adopting ordinances that would prevent a utility from connecting or supplying customers with natural gas or propane. 
• SF 1393/HF 28 would ease regulations for companies to site data centers in Minnesota by removing the requirement for a state environmental impact assessment and allowing backup generation on site that exceeds 50,000 kW. The House version of the legislation was heard and passed out of the House Energy Policy and Finance Committee on February 13.

Several bills have been introduced in response to the state’s carbon-free mandate that passed in 2023. Among them, are:

• SF 58/HF 1200 would exempt coops from the carbon-free standard.
• SF 572/HF 9 would make several changes to the standard from removing the restriction on approving new nuclear facilities to removing the sales tax on energy used for home heating.
• SF 573 would remove the restriction on the size of a hydroelectric facility in order to qualify as a carbon-free resource.
• SF 1429/HF 787 would exempt energy produced outside of the state from the carbon-free standard.
• SF 1432 would include wood within the definition of biomass as a clean energy resource.
• SF 1436 would clarify that the carbon-free standard only applies to investor-owned utilities.
• SF 1530 would mandate the PUC delay the implementation of the carbon-free standard if transmission issues prevent utilities from building or acquiring more clean generation.

Only HF 9 has received a hearing so far. It is clear that amending the carbon-free standard is a priority for republicans this year; however, split government will require bipartisan compromise on legislation this year and it is unlikely democrats will support bills that dramatically alter the standard.

Regulatory 

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved Xcel’s first Natural Gas Innovation Act (NGIA) plan in docket 23-518. NGIA is a law that passed in 2021 which allows Minnesota gas utilities to propose pilots to help contribute toward the state’s goal of decarbonization. The plan calls for $55 million in spending. Amongst the approved pilots, Xcel will have funds to conduct a community ground source heat pump pilot; work with the Prairie Island Indian Community and Dakota Electric to conduct energy audits, weatherize and electrify homes; fund air source heat pumps for commercial customers; and invest in additional efforts in low-income energy efficiency and electrification.

Governor Walz named Audrey Partridge to fill the PUC seat vacated by Valerie Means. Partridge is an expert on energy efficiency and most recently served as the Policy Director for the Center for Energy and Environment in Minnesota. Partridge and Hwikwon Ham, who was appointed to the PUC last year, are scheduled to have their Senate confirmation hearings on February 26.

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.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency released its biennial report to the legislature on the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by sector. The report details emissions patterns from 2005 through 2022 and highlights that electricity generation emissions have fallen by 50% over that period. The report details that commercial, residential and industrial emissions have all steadily increased, citing the need for additional energy efficiency efforts in these sectors.

How to Get Involved

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

Back to top

Legislative

The 2025 Missouri legislative session is underway, approaching its halfway point of Spring Break in early March. The House schedule is here and the Senate schedule is here. The last day to introduce new bills in the Senate, with some exceptions, is March 1.

We are following few notable bills related to EE, including:

• SB 4 (Cierpiot), a 133-page omnibus utility bill with a range of provisions across utilities, including:
  • Allowing utilities to use a "future test year" to project their expenses in rate proceedings,
  • Allowing natural gas utilities to charge for services based on the costs of certain construction work in progress (CWIP),
  • Changing the schedule of integrated resource planning from every 3 years to every 4 years with at last 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 has now passed through two House committees in executive sessions and is eligible to be brought to the House floor.
• SB 186 (Cierpiot) would allow the Public Service Commission to streamline approval for electric investor-owned utilities to construct or acquire supply-side resources, as proposed in their integrated resource planning (IRP), as part of the IRP review process itself. This bill passed the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy Committee & the Environment Committee on February 11.

Regulatory

The Missouri Energy Efficiency Investment Act (MEEIA) cycle 4 cases have concluded. Look out for an upcoming blog reviewing the dockets and their impact on the future of EE in Missouri.

On December 11 the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) approved Evergy Missouri’s MEEIA Cycle 4 plan in dockets EO-2023-0369 and EO-2023-0370. The programs went into effect on January 1, 2025. Previously, parties put forward a Non-Unanimous Stipulation and Agreement, providing for a $69.5 million total program budget. Although PSC Staff were not signatories to the agreement, they did not object to the filing in their response.

On November 14, the Commission approved Ameren Missouri’s amended MEEIA Cycle 4 plan in docket EO-2023-0136. Ameren and other parties filed a Non-Unanimous Stipulation and Agreement on October 30, outlining a total budget of $125.03 million and a more limited set of programs than their previous application. On December 11 the Commission granted approval of program details – including the Technical Resource Manual and Deemed Savings Table, Program Templates and Incentive Ranges – and Expedited Treatment, but only for those measures Staff outlined as having been previously approved by the Commission.

How to Get Involved

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

Back to top

Executive

On February 12, Governor Pillen named Jesse Bradley the new interim director of the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE). Bradley currently serves as the interim director of the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources as well. Merging the two leadership positions is in line with LB 317 (more information below), introduced at Pillen’s request by Senator Tom Brandt. LB 317 proposes merging NDEE with DNR to form the Nebraska Department of Water, Energy and Environment. 

Legislative

The 2025 Nebraska Unicameral Legislative session began on January 8. View the tentative 2025 legislative schedule here.

Bill introduction ended on January 22. These are the notable bills brought to the legislative agenda: 

• LB129: Prohibit restrictions on the provisions of certain energy services. This bill expands language around the “ban on gas bands” established in 2024. LB 129 had a hearing on January 29.
• LB 163: Create the Office of Climate Action. The Office of Climate Action will 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. 
• LB 164: Adopt the Urban Development Incentive Act, which would create a grant program for equitable sustainable neighborhood revitalization, requiring funded projects to build structures to green building (LEED) building certification metrics. LB 164 is scheduled for its first hearing in the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee on February 25.
• 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. The Natural Resources Committee held its first hearing for LB 317 on February 13, where the bill faced mixed responses from the public. Read more about the first hearing here. 
• LB 409: Change provisions relating to the membership of the Nebraska Power Review Board by requiring it to include at least one licensed journeyman electrician, one engineer and one attorney. The Natural Resources Committee held a hearing for LB 409 on February 20.
• 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.
• 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. 
• 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 611: Adopts updates to the building and energy codes, moving residential and commercial energy codes to the 2021 IECC, but leaving other codes at the 2018 IECC. The Urban Affairs Committee held an initial hearing on February 18. 

How to Get Involved

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

Back to top

Legislative

The legislative session began on January 7. The 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. More information about the session, including legislative deadlines, can be found here. 
• 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. 

Back to top

Legislative

The 136th General Assembly was sworn in on January 6. 

Speaker Huffman has scrapped the standalone Public Utilities Committee, which had existed since 2007. The House Energy Committee will handle all energy and utility bills this session.

The bill list in Ohio can be found here. Relevant legislation that has been introduced is:

• SB 2 (Reineke) was previously a one-paragraph placeholder bill. It has been amended in committee and is now the Senate’s version of the omnibus energy bill. The current bill covers a lot of ground. It prioritizes construction permits for generation infrastructure, transmission and pipelines built in priority investment areas and expedites the approval process. It also modifies the law regarding utility land leasing and allows for forecasted test periods in rate cases. It also requires each electric distribution utility to file a rate case for distribution service by December 31, 2029 and requires the adoption of rules around competitive electric and natural gas service. 
• HB 15 (Klopfenstein) is the House version of the omnibus energy bill. Provisions include: repealing the “legacy generation resource” mechanism that was used to extend cost recovery for OVEC in HB 6 in 2019; forbidding distribution utilities from owning generation or bidding into wholesale markets with customer funds; transferring some taxes from generation facilities to T&D systems; and establishing a consumer choice billing system administered by PUCO to consolidate billing for competitive supply services.
• SB 2 and HB 15 both cover a lot of the same material. The two bills amend most of the same sections, though each has a few sections not dealt with by the other with SB 2 being the slightly larger bill of the two. They repeal all the same sections. 

Neither of the introduced energy/utility bills have an energy efficiency component. The legislature did not introduce any standalone energy efficiency legislation after HB 79 died last session.  Proponent/interested party testimony on both SB 2 and HB 15 includes multiple calls for energy efficiency to be included in amendments to the bills.

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. It would include three programs: smart thermostat ($4.75M total), energy education ($8.7M total) and low-income energy efficiency ($23M total). There is no proposed non-residential component. A technical conference has been scheduled for March 12.

How to Get Involved 

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

Back to top

Legislative

House and Senate committee assignments for the upcoming legislative session have been announced. The 100th South Dakota legislative session began on January 14, and the deadline to introduce new bills was February 5. There were no bills introduced that would directly impact energy efficiency. There is one notable bill, HB 1217 (Aylward), that would require customer consent prior to installation of a smart meter. 

The session calendar is available here.

How to Get Involved

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

Back to top

Legislative

Legislators kicked off their session with inauguration on January 6. Session dates for the remainder of the biennial can be found here. Senator Bradely was announced as the Chair of the Senate Committee on Utilities and Tourism, and Representative Steffen was chosen as the Chair for the Assembly Committee on Energy and Utilities. No bills that touch on MEEA's core issues have been introduced yet.

How to Get Involved

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

Back to top

Executive

Many of President Trump’s nominees have been approved in recent weeks. Confirmed picks include Chris Wright as Secretary of the Department of Energy, Doug Burgum as Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Lee Zeldin as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. After his confirmation, Secretary Wright outlined a list of his priorities in his first Secretarial Order titled ‘Unleashing the Golden Era of American Energy Dominance.’

On his first day in office, President Trump signed an Executive Order entitled “Unleashing American Energy” that will have several potential energy efficiency impacts nationwide. The Order immediately paused disbursements of funds under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) for at least 90 days. All agencies are 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. MEEA will continue to closely monitor policy developments impacting federal funding for HOMES, HEAR and other programs.

The Order revokes a number of executive orders issued under the Biden administration geared towards fighting climate change. The Order also emphasizes the administration’s policy of “promoting true consumer choice” with respect to everything from electric vehicles to appliances seemingly hinting towards a potential rollback of regulations promoting electric vehicles or appliance standards. In response to the Order, Secretary Wright announced on February 14 that the Department of Energy will postpone efficiency standards for several appliances such as air conditioners, clothes washers and dryers, and walk-in freezers and coolers.

Regulatory 

President Trump announced that he would elevate Commissioner Mark Christie to Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), replacing the Democrat Willie Phillips. Phillips will continue to serve as a FERC Commissioner, as his term does not expire until June 2026.

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. As such, FERC’s November 5 Order remains in effect pending any appeals to the federal court. 

On February 18, President Trump issued an Executive Order claiming authority over several federal regulatory agencies including FERC. The Order states that “no employee of the executive branch acting in their official capacity may advance an interpretation of the law as the position of the United States that contravenes the President or the Attorney General’s opinion on a matter of law.” The Order also requires FERC and other agencies to submit any significant regulatory actions to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval. Whether or not this Executive Order will be challenged and upheld by the courts remains unclear.

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. 

Back to top

Recent Publications:

• Minnesota Fact Sheet

• Indiana Fact Sheet

• Kentucky Fact Sheet

Recent Testimony and Comments:​

• MEEA Comments to Nebraska Unicameral Natural Resources Committee on LB459
• MEEA Comments on Phase 2A of the Illinois Future of Gas Workshops
• MEEA Comments on WI Focus on Energy Avoided T&D Proposed Methodology
• MEEA Proponent Testimony on HB79, Ohio Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee

Recent Blogs:

• Remembering Inspiration while Working Through Change
• Ready for Liftoff: Conference Attendees Collaborate to Accelerate Virtual Power Plant Adoption
• Another One Bites the Dust: Ohio EE Legislation Dies in Lame Duck
• Building Operator Certification Approved as TechCred Certification in Ohio
• Ensuring Cost Effective Heat Pump Solutions for Under-Resourced Communities
• Ensuring Equitable Access to Heat Pump Technologies

Back to top