After a summer with more than 20 days over 90 degrees, the commonwealth’s communities are now contending with single digit cold snaps, and winter has only just started. Extreme temperatures have come as gas and heating oil prices skyrocket and fossil fuel companies cry for more polluting fossil fuels to solve our dilemma. What we really need at this moment is to move towards a clean, energy efficient future.
Such a future is especially important when we acknowledge that those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change are hit the hardest by these rising costs and extreme temperatures. For example, in the United States, around 52.2% of Black or African American households and 45% of Hispanic/Latino households struggle to afford electricity, cooking gas and heating oil.
That’s why Massachusetts’ three-year energy efficiency plan is so critical right now. The Department of Public Utilities is currently debating the plan, and it should be approved.
Energy efficiency is a powerful tool in the fight against climate change and in making progress toward a more equitable future. It also can save you money, clean our air and even improve your health. At its most basic level, energy efficiency is about making the electricity you use go further, which reduces the overall demand for energy.
The plan will improve access to renters and Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) residents, who may also require access to services in different languages. Because, as it stands now, energy efficiency programs are not equitably distributed to those hit hardest by climate impacts. Participation in the Mass Save energy efficiency programs is much higher in white, privileged and affluent communities than communities of color and low- and moderate-income households.
The plan would accomplish at least two changes that matter for renters and BIPOC residents: 1) increasing accessibility to renters, and 2) improving outreach through translated materials and multilingual communication to increase the language accessibility of energy efficiency programs.
Renters often have a difficult time accessing these current energy efficiency programs. With thousands of rented units throughout Massachusetts, we are missing a huge population that should benefit from lower utility bills. The weatherization of these units would also help the state advance toward its clean energy and climate goals.
This three-year plan under the Department of Public Utilities’ review is the first to dedicate more funds and attention to increasing renter access, requiring renter unit participation to increase between 2022 and 2024. Renters pay into the energy efficiency system, so their needs must guide the design and implementation of energy efficiency policies and programming.
Language barriers are another major obstacle to participation in our energy efficiency programs. A 2020 study found that people who do not participate in Massachusetts energy efficiency programs were more likely to live in households that don't speak English or report having limited English proficiency. Navigating the process to retrofit a home’s utility system for energy efficiency poses many barriers to working-class people and is particularly difficult when communication is not in a person’s native language. According to the same study, offering home energy assessments in the most commonly spoken languages in Massachusetts would support greater access to the state’s energy efficiency programs among non-English speaking households.
One way to increase language access is through establishing partnerships with community-based organizations who can help guide people through the process in their native language. By working with community organizations that local residents trust, the administrators of energy efficiency programs can create a bridge with BIPOC and non-English speaking communities.
Climate change is happening here and now. Extreme temperatures will only become more severe and our utility bills more expensive unless we strengthen our energy efficiency programs. Not only would a strong and equitable three-year energy efficiency plan help meet Massachusetts’ climate mandate, it would also support our communities most vulnerable to climate change.
We have a chance to spark change with this energy efficiency plan, so the Department of Public Utilities must approve the plan to ensure that the needs of renters, BIPOC and communities with limited English proficiency can benefit from energy efficiency programs in Massachusetts.
Luisa de Paula Santos is a researcher at Community Labor United; Paulina Casasola, is an organizer at Clean Water Action; and Staci Rubin, is Vice President for Environmental Justice at the Conservation Law Foundation.
