Customers Save Money, Reduce Emissions, and Increase Home Comfort and Safety
ZUR SOFORTIGEN FREIGABE 5. August 2021
MCE Presse Kontakt:
Jenna Famular, Managerin für Marketing und Kommunikation
(925) 378-6747 | jtenney@mcecleanenergy.org
SAN RAFAEL und CONCORD, Kalifornien. — MCE is excited to share the results of a recent study conducted for its Low-Income Families and Tenants (LIFT) Pilot Program. The program, launched as a pilot in 2018, reduces energy burden and improves the quality of life of residents in income-qualified multifamily properties in MCE’s service area. The Program offers energy efficiency, electrification, and health, safety, and comfort upgrades through a grant from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The first phase of the pilot ended on May 31, 2021, after distributing over $1 million in incentives to program participants. The 680 qualifying households received such upgrades as switching natural gas and propane heating equipment to high-efficiency electric heat pumps. Participants saved over 7,800 kilowatt-hours and decarbonized energy loads from space and water heating. MCE has received additional CPUC funding to continue the pilot through 2023 and expects to serve more than 450 additional households. Interested property owners should visit mceCleanEnergy.org/multifamily-savings to sign up and learn more.
MCE developed the LIFT Program to address large gaps in the energy efficiency market for income-qualified multifamily property owners and tenants. Residents of income-qualified multifamily housing face multiple barriers to participating in energy efficiency programs, including lack of control over any significant upgrades made to their units, concerns about sharing personal information, immigration enforcement actions, and financial constraints.
“The LIFT Program shows MCE’s mission in action by focusing on populations that have a great need for these services and that are often missed by existing programs,” said Shanelle Scales-Preston, MCE Board Vice Chair and City of Pittsburg councilmember. “A transition to an equitable energy future relies on agencies like MCE ensuring that all customers have access to programs like this that lower bills, increase the comfort and safety of their homes, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions.”
Energy efficiency programs for income-qualified customers have typically targeted CalEnviroScreen designated disadvantaged communities (DACs). MCE found that income-qualified residents living outside a CalEnviroScreen DAC are less likely to participate in energy saving programs and services. An assessment of the program participants showed that almost 95% of them were located outside a DAC. Over 40% of customers received information about the program in a language other than English. These metrics significantly exceed MCE’s goal for at least 40% of program participants to meet one or more of those criteria.
By replacing natural gas appliances with electric heat pumps for space and water heating, we electrified customers homes and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The results of the program showed that almost 80% of LIFT program participants also participated in MCE’s multifamily energy savings program, saving an average of $192 a year on their electric bill. These results demonstrate that electrification measures paired with energy efficiency can reduce customer bills and greenhouse gas emissions simultaneously.
Learn more about MCE’s customer programs at mceCleanEnergy.org/kunden-programme and read the full report on MCE’s Lift Pilot Program hier.
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Über MCE: Als Kaliforniens erstes Community Choice Aggregation Program ist MCE eine bahnbrechende, gemeinnützige, öffentliche Einrichtung, die seit 2010 den Standard für Energieinnovationen in unseren Gemeinden setzt. MCE bietet sauberen Strom zu stabilen Tarifen, reduziert die energiebedingten Treibhausgasemissionen erheblich und ermöglicht Reinvestitionen in Höhe von Millionen von Dollar in lokale Energieprogramme. MCE ist ein Lastversorger mit einer Spitzenlast von 1.200 MW. MCE versorgt mehr als 540.000 Kunden und mehr als eine Million Einwohner und Unternehmen in 36 Mitgliedsgemeinden in vier Bezirken der Bay Area mit Strom: Contra Costa, Marin, Napa und Solano. Weitere Informationen über MCE finden Sie unter mceCleanEnergy.org, oder folgen Sie uns auf Facebook, LinkedIn und Instagram.
