Energy efficiency is changing, with a plethora of new opportunities and needs. This is a chance to build an Active Efficiency future that more fully optimizes energy use to address challenges of decarbonization, grid reliability, and energy affordability with approaches including digitalization, beneficial electrification, and distributed energy resources. What does this transition mean for the efficiency industry? What pitfalls must we avoid – including ensuring that underserved communities don’t get left behind? Which practical market, regulatory, and policy changes are required for success?

Addressing the twin crises of energy equity and climate will require dramatic increases in home retrofits. The residential sector accounts for 22% of U.S. energy consumption but is difficult to address and has been underserved by efficiency investment, particularly within LMI housing, which accounts for 30% of electrical use but receives only 6% of efficiency spending. How can states and localities coordinate resources from the federal, state and local level, and what additional resources will be required to address the nation’s retrofit needs equitably and at scale?

The EE movement began in the 1970s when the global oil crisis shed light on the need for energy security and the world was beginning to understand the impact of climate change. Five decades later and recent headlines are eerily familiar. Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine is highlighting weaknesses in global energy security. The IPCC’s latest report warned that key climate investments must be made “now or never” to meet the Paris Climate Agreement. That same report – and dozens of others – tout EE at the quickest, cheapest solution for addressing our climate and energy needs, yet it remains underfunded and underutilized. Why are we still having this conversation? How to we ensure EE investment is scaled to meet its potential? How can energy policy prioritize energy efficiency and how do we spur political action?

Policies that allow DERs and energy efficiency to participate in wholesale energy markets could allow energy efficiency, and particularly Active Efficiency, to drive a new wave of efficiency gains, while also creating a more flexible grid, reducing emissions, and lowering energy rates. But as policies and market rules are established, it is critical that technological, market and regulatory drivers are properly aligned to realize the benefits of the aggregation and ensure that they are shared equitably. This session will feature a discussion amongst all critical players – policymakers, regulators, operators, service providers and customers – on best practices for large-scale aggregation frameworks.