Equitable Electrification: Program Models that Work for Existing Low Income Multifamily Buildings

Designing programs that prepare low-income communities for participation in our clean energy future is a critical component of equitable long-term decarbonization strategies.

California’s Low Income Weatherization Program for Multifamily (LIWP-MF) is the first building retrofit program in the state to deliver both energy efficiency and onsite renewables under a single program delivery model.

More importantly, it is the first low-income program to promote and directly incentivize building electrification and decarbonization.

As the implementer of the LIWP-MF program statewide, the Association for Energy Affordability (AEA) has learned firsthand the technical, policy and programmatic challenges associated with electrifying the low-income multifamily market and effective approaches to address those challenges.

LIWP-MF’s model has proven to be an extremely successful program for practical implementation of decarbonization strategies in disadvantaged communities, with more properties on its waitlist than it has available funding to serve.

In this study published originally in ACEEE’s 2020 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings, the authors discuss the origins and evolution of the LIWP-MF program model and program impact statistics from the last four years. This study explores program results, including actualized cost and energy savings data, and lessons learned from LIWP-MF for other program administrators and implementers looking to achieve similar results.