The energy equity framework that benefits customers, utilities, and underserved communities
Sarah Baker Jesse Hitchcock Liza Minor Ben Nathan Vince Ruggeri Miriam Stein Amy Schmidt An E Source white paper

Key takeaways

  • Energy equity means making sure everyone—especially historically underserved communities—has access to clean, affordable, and reliable energy.
  • Utilities should care about energy equity because it can lead to new savings opportunities, reduced financial risk, non-energy benefits, and improved reputation. Equity can also help utilities meet regulatory mandates.
  • Utilities need to define what energy equity means for them before they create and measure goals.
  • Utilities should work with local stakeholders, like community-based organizations, to understand, engage, and serve customers who haven’t historically benefited from utility programs.
  • Utilities will need the right metrics to monitor energy equity outcomes, and they’ll need to include those metrics in program evaluations and annual reports.

Energy equity means making sure everyone—especially historically underserved communities—has access to clean, affordable, and reliable energy. For utilities, energy equity:

  • Helps meet regulatory mandates and increasing environmental and decarbonization objectives
  • Advances next-generation technologies
  • Improves the utility’s reputation and service to customers

Utilities are applying an equity lens to their demand-side management, distributed energy resource, and EV programs. They’re also incorporating equity into their marketing and communications, internal operations, and trade ally engagement. And they’re learning more about customers’ unique needs and challenges and modifying programs and services to meet those needs, ensuring fairness and justice. In February 2022, E Source experts spoke about how utilities can incorporate equity into their offerings and operations. E Source members can watch the webinar recording to learn more: Integrating energy equity into your utility’s customer programs and engagement.

Utilities may recognize this critical opportunity, but they may not know where to start. We used our industry-wide perspective to collect and share the many ways that utilities in the US and Canada integrate equity into their programs and operations.

In this white paper, we:

  • Present our energy equity framework to help utilities identify creative and holistic solutions to achieve their goals
  • Explain what’s already working at utilities and what else utilities could try
  • List practical, actionable solutions to help utilities advance energy equity

This white paper is just one part of our mission to drive the energy system forward in a thoughtful, sustainable way that serves and benefits utilities and all customers and communities.

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0 Low- or moderate-income customers Underserved customers Brand and reputation Communications Corporate citizenship Energy equity Community relations Electrification Demand-side management (DSM) Program design