Energy Equity and BCA

As jurisdictions increasingly center energy equity as an overarching goal in a transition to a cleaner energy industry, many are creating goals that address equity in all aspects of their distributed energy resource (DER) investments and other strategies. This requires affirming equity in decision-making tools and understanding the extent to which benefit-cost analyses (BCAs) address equity.

A guide for conducting distributional equity analysis (DEA) is available for state energy regulators and key stakeholders to help inform equity implications of DER investment decisions. Download the DEA guide below. And NEW (July 2024): “Establishing and Maintaining Engagement for a Distributional Equity Analysis” — Download the engagement guide below.

See NESP Events for DEA webinars and trainings.

Distributional Equity Analysis for Energy Efficiency and Other DERs:
A Practical Guide (May 2024)

Why This DEA Guide?

In applying the NSPM since 2017, it became clear that BCAs do not adequately address equity in terms of the distribution of cost and benefits to different types of utility customers – in particular those that a state defines as “priority”, e.g., vulnerable or under-served populations.

To address this gap, E4TheFuture teamed with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Synapse Energy Economics to expand upon NESP’s 2022 conceptual framework and develop comprehensive guidance on conducting a DEA.

Jointly funded by NESP (a project of E4TheFuture) and LBNL (via US DOE EERE), creation of the DEA Guide was informed by an advisory committee with a broad representation of stakeholders.

DEA Framework

A useful 20-page companion document to the DEA Guide, this summary also provides an overview of key steps.

Complementary Engagement Guide

Intended to support an organization, such as a utility or nonprofit, in developing an engagement strategy for conducting a DEA for DERs.: Establishing and Maintaining Engagement for a Distributional Equity Analysis (July 2024) draws upon the work of activists, scholars, and practitioners. This guide points users to key resources and considerations that may address the common barriers to conducting meaningful and accessible engagement.

Questions about this project? Contact NSPM@nationalenergyscreeningproject.org.

Other national efforts on energy equity include:

• American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy
  • Leading with Equity Initiative
• Energy Equity Project
• Illume Advising
  • Energy Equity Playbook
• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
  • Advancing Equity in Utility Regulation
• New York University Institute for Policy Integrity
  • Making Regulations Fair: How Cost-Benefit Analysis Can Promote Equity and Advance Environmental Justice
  • Distributional Consequences and Regulatory Analysis
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
  • Review of Energy Equity Metrics
• Regulatory Assistance Project
  • Smart Rate Design for Distributed Energy Resources
• VEIC
  • The State of Equity Measurement: A Review of Practices in the Clean Energy Industry