Saving neighborhood energy spring 2014

Saving Money by Saving Energy Energy Savings Innovation Leveraging $20 Million in Private Capital Financing Saving Neighborhood Energy: Transforming Energy into Assets for Families (SNE) is an innovative financing and assetbuilding intermediary catalyzing energy efficiency among ordinary Californians. Our community-based pilots enable low- and moderate-income families who own homes in California to finally access the home energy savings available to wealthier households, while reducing harmful carbon emissions. SNE’s pilots use California’s first-ever CPUCapproved authorization for Onbill Repayment Financing (OBR) for homeowners in partnership with investor owned utilities and a community choice aggregator. Our pilots will access $2 million in utility-funded credit enhancement to leverage $20 million in private capital and serve 2000 California families.

Our Target Families Live in 5.8 Million Older, Inefficient Homes in California Single family homes contribute approximately 85% of the Nation’s harmful residential emissions. In California, the lowest income families typically live in the State’s 5.8 million older, inefficient homes, and spend nearly double the average on energy bills. Yet, a $10,000 home energy investment is too expensive for these families to pay for out of pocket or prioritize.

Despite the billions California spends to incentivize EE and renewable, these low- and moderate-income families are overlooked, lacking access to affordable financing while earning income too high to qualify for free grants.

These families cannot afford to lose out on the ability to save money by saving energy. Indeed these are the very families for whom energy savings of $500 to $1000 per family per year are most meaningful.

The Onbill Repayment Solution for Families Our solution -- OBR -- is a private EE loan whose repayment is posted as a line item on a household utility bill, allowing the seamless integration of energy financing with energy savings. OBR enables many families to upgrade with a net-zero impact – or better -- on their household budgets, or to amortize a large energy systems replacement as a small line item on their energy bill. Our lenders enjoy the additional security offered by a utility bill repayment vehicle. SNE aligns utilities, lenders and cities/counties to develop unique OBR financing partnerships.

Asset Building and the MESA In conjunction with some of our OBR loans, SNE is piloting a unique financial savings product that leverages key lessons from the asset-building field to help improve housing affordability and build financial savings from averted home energy costs. The Matched Energy Savings Account (MESA) rewards participating OBR homeowners with deposits into a custodial savings account for energy savings achieved post upgrade, incentivizing participation in the OBR loan program, offsetting the cost of financing, and building energy-reducing behavior change post retrofit.

Families can use their MESA to invest in the things that matter most to them: education, paying off debts, jumpstarting a business, or saving for a rainy day.

SNE’s Landmark Intermediary Role SNE helps municipal and investor-owned utilities throughout California extend their OBR programs to reach underserved families. We champion low- and moderate-income homeowner and borrower outreach and protections, working with experts, policymakers, regulators, utilities, and community organizations to make pragmatic our unique work at the intersection of affordable homeownership, banking, and energy. Our pilots are the first scalable, replicable, energy efficiency OBR/MESA financing & savings programs for low- and moderate-income homeowners in the Nation.

SNE’S PILOTS ARE FIRST IN CALIFORNIA Our pilots are partnered with Marin Clean Energy, serving Marin and Richmond, and with Pacific Gas & Electric and serving Santa Clara County, Fresno County, and other locations in PG&E’s service territory.

131 Steuart Street, Suite 300A, San Francisco, CA 94105 – (o) 415-625-8454 - www.EnergyIntoAssets.org