MEEA Policy Insider - March 2025

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: 

Illinois banner

Legislative

The 104th General Assembly was sworn in on January 8. The new bill introduction deadline was February 7, and the deadline to get a bill through committee in its first chamber was March 21. 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 March 21 committee 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. 
  • 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 was placed on calendar for a second reading. 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. 

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 Public Utilities Committee on March 19 and was placed on calendar for a second reading. 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.
  • 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. The bill was never assigned to a substantive committee and will not 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. 
  • 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. None of these bills were referred to a substantive committee and as such will not advance this session. 
  • HB 2768 (Haas) would prohibit counties and municipalities from banning end use natural gas in new construction without a referendum. This bill was not referred to a substantive committee and as such will not 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 communicated the desire to request that the ICC commission a pathways study. Meeting materials for all past workshops can be found here.

How to Get Involved

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

Back to top

indiana banner

Legislative

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 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 was reported out of committee in the House on March 13, and had its second reading on the House floor on March 17.
  • 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 had its first reading and was referred to the House Committee on Government and Regulatory Reform on March 3.

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 concluded the stakeholder portion and the IRP was due to the IURC on March 28.
  • NIPSCO – NIPSCO’s 2024 IRP has been submitted to the IURC and can be downloaded on the IURC IRP page. Comments have been extended to April 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 meetings will continue approximately bi-monthly through October 2025. The next meeting will be held on April 16. Meeting materials and agenda will be uploaded at the above link a week prior.

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

Iowa Header

Legislative

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

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 is April 4, the final date for Senate bills and joint resolutions to be reported out of House committees and House bills and joint resolutions out of the Senate committees. 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 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. 
  • 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. The Committee did not vote to pass SF 373 prior to March 7, and therefore SF 373 will not move forward this session. Language from SF 373 may be repurposed for other bills, and pieces of the IRP language are likely to influence amendments for the Governor’s bills. 

How to Get Involved

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

Back to top

kansas banner

Legislative

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, and the last day for non-exempt bills to be considered not in their chamber of origin was March 21. View the 2025 session deadlines here.

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. On March 6, the House Committee on Taxation held a hearing on SB 51; read MEEA’s comments here. The Committee on Taxation recommended SB 51 be passed with an amendment, which did not include additional energy considerations, and on March 20, there was a motion to rerefer SB 51 to the Committee on Taxation. 
  • 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.” 
  • 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.” 

How to Get Involved

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

Back to top

Kentucky Insider Header

Legislative

Session Part I convened on January 7 for four legislative days. Session Part II convened on February 4 for 30 legislative days. Session adjourned 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. The case was supposed be submitted for decision in February, but 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 was 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

Michigan banner

Legislative

The Michigan legislature opened 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. 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 nuclear energy. These bills do not impact energy efficiency. Legislators have been spending the bulk of their time on the state budget and road funding.

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 was 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. Additional comments on the MIRPP, IRP Filing Requirements and CEP Filing Requirements are due April 4 and should be emailed to Amelia Arnold at ArnoldA11@Michigan.gov.

How to Get Involved

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

Back to top

minnesota banner

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. The bill was referred to the Housing Finance and Policy Committee on March 5. 
  • 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. On March 3, the House version received a second reading and was put on the calendar for March 12. There was a successful motion to lay on the table postponing a third reading of the bill.
  •  HF 2442/SF 2393 is the budget bill covering the Department of Commerce and its energy work. These bills will likely change meaningfully as session goes on, but for now contain funds for vermiculate remediation for pre-weatherization, additional funds for pre-weatherization and weatherization work, funds for benchmarking and natural gas innovation act implementation and funds to support staff time dedicated toward grid-enhancing technologies plans. 

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 co-ops 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.

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 Department of Commerce held a kickoff meeting on March 20 for the new statewide energy efficiency potential study. Commerce staff outlined plans for the study including scope and timeline. 

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, were both confirmed by the Senate Energy, Utilities, Environment and Climate Committee on February 26. Those appointments now head to the Senate floor for a vote.

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.

Back to top

missouri banner

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), a 133-page omnibus utility bill, was amended to include language from several previous bills, with a range of provisions. The bill moved quickly through both chambers, and on March 13 the language was Truly Agreed To and Finally Passed through the legislature. The bill is now on Governor Kehoe’s desk for approval and the law would take effect on August 28, if signed. The most relevant provisions to EE include:
    • 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 passed the House on March 5. After reported to the Senate, the bill was referred to the Committee on Local Government, Elections and Pensions on March 13, where it is expected to be heard soon.

Regulatory

The Missouri Energy Efficiency Investment Act (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 a state administrated EE program as an alternative to the current utility administrated programs. A request for proposal for the study is expected by the end of the month.

How to Get Involved

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

Back to top

nebraska banner

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. The deadline for public hearings on introduced bills is March 28, and floor debates will begin March 31. These are the notable bills brought to the legislative agenda: 

  • LB 129: Prohibit restrictions on the provisions of certain energy services. This bill expands language around the “ban on gas bans” 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 was scheduled for its first hearing in the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee on February 25. It is still in Committee.
  • 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 317 was declared a Natural Resources Committee priority bill on March 12. 
  • 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 531 was placed on General File on March 17 with an amendment that clarified the role of NDEE in building plan review.  
  • 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

North Dakota header

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 is scheduled for a hearing on March 28.
  • 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

Ohio banner

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) as amended passed the Senate 32-0 on March 19. As passed, the bill converts a school solar generation fund to a school energy performance contracting loan fund, which can make loans for energy conservation measures or contracting in schools. It also allows electric utilities to establish voluntary demand response / load control programs for residential and small commercial customers to reduce peak demand. There is no utility energy efficiency program component of the bill.
  • HB 15 (Klopfenstein) is scheduled for its seventh hearing in House Energy, with possible amendment and possible vote on March 26. Sixty proponents offered testimony at the sixth hearing on March 19, including energy and environmental advocates, the Ohio Consumer Council, independent power producers, and several dozen individual residential solar customers. 

These two omnibus bills are the focus of legislative efforts on energy this session. As introduced they covered mostly the same policy areas, though they have diverged somewhat with amendments to SB 2. Most of the same opponents and proponents have offered testimony on both bills. 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, but the small provisions in SB 2 for schools and DR are all that has been added on the demand side. 

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, but no documents from that conference have been posted to the docket. 

How to Get Involved 

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

Back to top

south dakota banner

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 bill was referred to House Local Government and deferred to the 41st legislative day essentially defeating the bill.

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

wisconsin banner

Legislative

Legislators kicked off their session with inauguration on January 6. 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. 

Back to top

Federal updates

Executive

President Trump’s cabinet secretaries continue signaling a significant shift in federal policy through a variety of agency actions. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright outlined a list of his priorities in his first Secretarial Order titled ‘Unleashing the Golden Era of American Energy Dominance.’ Secretary Wright announced on February 14 that the Department of Energy (DOE) will postpone efficiency standards for several appliances such as air conditioners, clothes washers and dryers, and walk-in freezers and coolers. 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.

On February 21, the EPA terminated the cooperative agreements for the Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (TCTAC) program. The TCTACs were created by Congress in 2022 to provide free technical assistance to support communities in implementing infrastructure grants from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The TCTACs impacted in the Midwest were Blacks in Green (Region 5), Great Lakes Environmental Justice TCTAC – University of Minnesota (Region 5), the Heartland Environmental Justice Center TCTAC – Wichita State University (Region 7) and the Mountains and Plains Thriving Communities Collaborative – Montana State University (Region 8). The TCTACs can contest their grant termination, and thus far Region 7, the Heartland Environmental Justice Center, has said they do not plan to contest the termination and are pausing all operations. 

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. At least two federal judges have since 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. 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. 

Regulatory 

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

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. On February 28, the Democratic National Committee sought an injunction in federal court on the grounds that the Order violated the Federal Election Campaign Act which vests the Federal Election Commission with independent authority to interpret the Act. The proceedings over the legality of this and several other executive orders are ongoing. 

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. 

Back to top

resources

Recent Publications:

Recent Testimony and Comments:​

Recent Blogs:

 

Back to top