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Ed. note: “Community Energy Insights” is a monthly column from the people at the Redwood Coast Energy Authority, Humboldt County’s intergovernmental joint-powers authority on all things electrical. Look for it on the last Thursday of the month.

This week’s column is by RCEA Customer Programs Director Stephen Kullman.

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A new effort led by Redwood Coast Energy Authority is bringing more energy efficiency resources to rural Northern California. The Northern Rural Energy Network (NREN) was developed to make sure rural communities receive their fair share of energy efficiency funding and services. The program is designed specifically for the unique needs of rural areas and is already launching programs to help households, businesses, public agencies and tribes save energy and lower costs.

The effort is meant to address a long-standing challenge for rural communities.

It probably won’t surprise anyone that rural communities across Northern California experience higher energy burdens than more populated regions of the state. Energy burden refers to the share of household income that goes toward energy bills. There are several reasons for this. Energy costs are high, especially for people who rely on propane or other delivered fuels, many homes and buildings are older and average incomes tend to be lower.

Most of us also know that improving energy efficiency — using less electricity to do the same amount of work — is one way to help lower energy bills while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. What many people may not realize is that the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) collects a small amount of money from all ratepayers to fund energy efficiency programs. It amounts to roughly 1% of an average energy bill. These programs are very successful at reducing energy use across the state.

Energy efficiency programs do not just assist homeowners. They are also designed to help schools, public buildings and commercial buildings operate more efficiently, which saves money over time. Unfortunately, these programs have historically been designed in ways that favor more urban areas. Up here in Northern California, we have not received the same level of energy efficiency services that we have paid for through our energy bills.

As the energy advocate for Humboldt County, Redwood Coast Energy Authority wanted to know why this was the case.

Energy efficiency programs in California are mostly run by Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs), such as PG&E. These programs must meet strict cost-effectiveness rules. Because of this, contractors can often make more profit working on projects for larger customers located close together in urban areas. Working with smaller customers spread across rural regions like Humboldt County simply takes more time and travel.

There is even an official term for communities like ours: “Hard-to-Reach.” Taking the time to travel longer distances and work with customers, rural schools, under-staffed towns, community service districts and our many Tribal Nations often does not make economic sense under traditional program rules. As a result, rural communities are frequently left behind when it comes to energy efficiency upgrades.

Local contractors face challenges as well. Statewide programs have complex participation requirements that can be difficult for rural, smaller-scale contractors to meet. On top of that, unreliable grid connections and older housing stock can create additional barriers for customers who want to make upgrades. Recognizing these challenges, RCEA decided to do something about them.

RCEA now leads NREN, working in partnership with four other agencies across 17 rural Northern California counties. Together, this network ensures that energy efficiency funds paid by local ratepayers are invested in ways that directly benefit the communities they come from. NREN operates with a “for rural, by rural” philosophy to design and deliver programs tailored to the region’s unique needs.

These programs currently serve Humboldt, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Lake, Lassen, Mariposa, Mendocino, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sierra, Sutter, Tuolumne and Yuba counties, with plans to expand to neighboring counties in the coming years. NREN was officially approved by the CPUC toward the end of 2024 as one of the state’s newest Regional Energy Networks, also known as RENs. These networks are designed to serve customers and fill gaps not met by large IOU programs.

NREN programs serve homeowners and renters, small businesses, public agencies and tribes. They will also focus on improving workforce education and training and making energy efficiency financing more accessible. While some programs are still under development, others are already available.

RCEA staff members Stephen Kullman, Shea Donnelly, and Patricia Terry, who work on administering the NREN program.

For example, NREN offers phone-based home energy assessments at no cost! One of our energy advisors will help identify where you can save energy and money. They can also advise you on upgrades you might be considering and connect you with programs such as our equipment rebate program.

NREN currently provides rebates for a variety of energy upgrades, including more efficient cooking, washing, drying and water heating equipment. Our popular heat pump rebate program is currently paused while the CPUC revises its requirements, but we hope to reopen it soon and will be sure to get the word out once it is back online. If you are not ready to invest in new equipment, we can still help.

We would be happy to send you a free energy efficiency kit. These kits include high-efficiency LED bulbs, weather-stripping and faucet aerators, along with useful tools like a smart power strip and an energy meter to help you track your energy use.

More programs will launch this summer. These programs will provide incentives for local participating contractors to install energy-efficient equipment in homes and businesses. Through existing programs, RCEA already works closely with public agencies, schools, tribes and other partners throughout the county and NREN will allow us to expand that work and bring more funding into Humboldt.

This funding will support the organizations that serve our communities and the local contractors who will be doing this work. We will also be launching partnerships to support workforce training at all levels, helping ensure that local rural workers benefit from the programs we offer.

At NREN, we recognize that high energy bills are a burden and that upgrades can be expensive. Our goal is to make sure the dollars you already pay to support energy efficiency programs are spent locally and provide the greatest benefit to our rural communities.

For more information or to enroll in any of our programs, please visit RCEA or NREN. You can also email info@redwoodenergy.org or call 707-269-1700. We are here locally and happy to help.