Our power grid is undergoing the most significant transformation since the early 1900s. Grid modernization involves new infrastructure, technology, and connectivity between the grid and the people that rely on it everyday.
People will have to think about and make decisions about their electricity use in new ways. To get them there, we’re empowering community organizations, schools, and governments to engage people in interesting and informative ways about their changing relationship to electricity.
The Illinois Science and Energy Innovation Foundation (“ISEIF”) is a not-for-profit organization created by the Illinois legislature in 2011, as part of the smart grid authorization of that year. Under our legislative mandate, we are charged with making grants for consumer education with regard to smart grid, consumer-facing technologies related to smart grid, and peak time rebate and other time-of-use pricing programs.
Since its inception, the fund has evolved from funding education programs centered on the smart grid and smart meters to a more wholistic approach to energy literacy that educates consumers on what they can do to save energy and bring down related costs in their households. This approach teaches people how to decipher a utility bill, how to take advantage of energy efficiency measures large and small, how to participate in hourly pricing programs, the benefit of smart thermostats, and how they can participate in community solar.
Engagement programs rest on the idea that consumers listen when approached in community-based settings where the material is made relevant, deemed trustworthy, and allows for 1-to-1 interaction with community members. One of the differentiating characteristics of outreach conducted by ISEIF grantees is that it’s conducted by members of the community, and in partnership with existing community partners. This allows for engagement that is reinforced by familiar faces in familiar spaces. This community-based approach complements the top-down approach by the utilities and allows for broader and deeper community reach. ISEIF identifies, recruits and provides training to organizations that are vital to communities but are not necessarily limited to environmental missions in their work— this allows us to reach the most people in need of energy savings education who would not seek out this information but are seeking out other ways to save money. Through this process we also provide capacity-building to community organizations that otherwise would not venture into providing education in this space to their communities.
Grants have supported a baseline of information around smart meters, which has dovetailed into the broader context of energy literacy and home energy management, linking in customers’ interests in energy saving programs, technology, efficiency and the smart grid. This approach resulted in higher engagement and greater accessibility to consumers, by offering information that they are already interested in, and augmenting it with information on grid upgrades and the shift to smart meters.
Our grants may only benefit non-profit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (including universities and municipalities) in Illinois. The statute also requires that grants be made proportionately in the service territories of ComEd and Ameren, and that 30% of our funding go to consumer education of seniors and low-income populations.
ISEIF is an interactive grantor. We require successful applicants to take part in occasional convenings of all grantees, and to participate in a number of conference calls during the grant year. These meetings and calls ensure that all grantees operating in the same geographic area are coordinating with one another, and not sending inconsistent messages. It also helps to assure good coordination with the utilities as they install their smart grids, and undertake their own consumer education and marketing programs, and to guard against over-promising or inaccurate statements by grantees trying to gain interest in their programs. We expect successful applicants to be aware of recent research in energy conservation and behavior change, and to shape their proposed projects in a way that moves the national understanding of these matters further. We provide educational opportunities throughout the year for our grantees to stay on top of these issues, and we will try to bring resources to our grantees in addition to funding that will help them to succeed in their creative work.
Grantmaking process and selection
Since our first grant in 2013, we have strived to ensure the funds received by ISEIF for grant awards have the highest impact, including benchmarking best practices, identifying and developing new grantees and working with our grantees to attempt to outperform best practices.
When ISEIF was founded we developed a granting process, which we still follow, that is focused on impact, transparency and accountability. We vetted that process with a number of industry experts and stakeholders. We thoroughly assess each grant utilizing an independent, multi-step review and evaluation process. This process consists of:
- An open, transparent, and competitive grant application process,
- Internal staff review of all submitted applications,
- Review and recommendations by an independent volunteer Peer Review Committee of all compliant applications,
- Review by the Education Committee of our Board of Directors of the recommendations of the Peer Review Committee, and
- Finally, review and approval of each grant by our full Board.
ISEIF’s Board includes volunteer government appointees with specialized domain knowledge and our separate volunteer Peer Review Committee members include a cross-section of experts on consumer education and energy education. Staff, Peer Review Committee members, and Board members are asked to disclose any conflicts-of-interest they may have with respect to any proposed grant and to recuse themselves from the review and decision-making process if any conflicts exist. Our grant review process has resulted in our funding of strong proposals by organizations with proven track records of education and engagement, measurable program activities, ability to operationalize, and trusted connections within targeted communities. All of our grant recipients, the members of our Peer Review Committee members and our Board of Directors, and our grant review process are all available on our website, www.iseif.org.
Addressing Energy Insecurity in Low-Income Households
Low-income households[1] spend a larger portion of their income on home energy costs than other households spend. This difference is referred to as a household’s energy burden, and as a metric helps us visualize energy affordability and insecurity. Today, 25% of U.S. households face a high energy burden – meaning they pay greater than 6% of their income on energy costs. Nearly 13% of all U.S households face a severe energy burden, meaning they pay more than 10% of their income on energy costs.[2] A disproportionate number of low-income households, 67% nationally, face a high energy burden.
Nationally, lower-income households spend three times as much of their income on energy costs compared to other households. In Illinois, low-income households face energy burdens of 7% on average, with parts of the state facing energy burdens as high as 15%.[3] According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, high and severe energy burdens impact physical and mental health, education, nutrition, job performance, and community development.
Higher energy burdens disproportionately impact communities of color, straining budgets and putting them at risk of utility shutoffs. Compared to white households, Black households spend 43% more of their income on energy costs, Latino households spend 20% more, and Native American households spend 45% more.[4] In the wake of COVID-19, these impacts on communities of color have deepened as households spend more time at home and face rising utility bills, have experienced job losses or significantly reduced income.
According to the Department of Energy, a key factor that contributes to high energy burdens is high consumption of electricity. Two ways to address this is by reducing excess energy use and implementing cost-effective energy efficiency measures. Efficiency improvements such as insulation, lighting, and energy-saving appliances can reduce electricity consumption by 13%-31% in low-income households nationally. In Illinois, low-income households have the potential to save 21-25% through energy efficiency alone. In addition to reducing energy costs, these interventions result in non-energy benefits for families including health and well-being benefits. Providing access to information on energy-saving options available to consumers enables them to make decisions such as participating in demand response programs, install energy efficiency measures, and purchase home energy management technology.
Achieving energy savings in low-income households presents unique barriers, which means programs serving low-income households must be designed and implemented with thoughtfulness and deliberation. Through years of supporting organizations engaging in this work and convening them to share their learnings with each other, we’ve learned that these barriers include:
- Disparate access to information and upgrades: Low-income communities have less access to information on energy-saving measures, energy-efficient home appliances and home efficiency upgrades
- Economic barriers: Lower incomes, unpredictable income flow, and lack of access to credit keep many of the residential smart technology solutions out of reach
- Experience higher costs: Low-income communities may experience higher costs when investing in efficiency upgrades and purchases than neighborhoods with higher incomes due to less availability and competition
- Untargeted utility programs: Researchers have found that many utility programs do not effectively market to low-income households who live in multifamily buildings. According to ACEEE, low-income communities face economic, social, health and information barriers that many program fail to address through specific targeting practices
[1] Defined as those making less than 80% of the Area Median Income
[2] American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE)
[3] Department of Energy, “Low-Income Household Energy Burden Varies Among States—Efficiency Can Help in All of Them”
[4] ACEEE, “How High are Household Energy Burdens?”