Watch video of The Energy Network's first public facility upgrade.
Culver City cut energy consumption by more than half at its Watseka Parking Structure. Better yet, the entire project from kickoff meeting to completion took just over eight weeks. Click image to see video.

Residential PACE
Gets Boost 

 

In a move designed to increase home energy upgrades, California recently approved a loan loss reserve program that should remove a major barrier to residential PACE, or Property Assessed Clean Energy financing.

 

The development is great news for The Energy Network, which seeks to expand participation in both commercial and residential PACE in Los Angeles County.

 

PACE is an innovative tool that allows property owners to finance renewable energy, and energy and water efficiency projects in their buildings. The owners then repay the loans through their property tax bill. PACE has made millions of dollars in energy upgrades possible throughout California, including the recent $7 million upgrade of the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City.

 

On the residential side, however, the program has been stymied by reluctance of mortgage lenders, especially Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to accept properties with PACE liens. To allay those concerns, California recently approved a PACE Loss Reserve Program with an initial funding of $10 million.

 

The loss reserve fund was championed by Governor Jerry Brown and approved by the Board of the California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Authority (CAEATFA) on February 18. This move mitigates the risk to mortgage holders and should eliminate the major regulatory risks associated with residential PACE.

 

The program will pay mortgage lenders for outstanding, delinquent PACE assessments in the event of a home foreclosure or forced sale. Losses may also include penalties and interest. CAEATFA will pay eligible claims within 20 days of receipt of a completed claim.

Mapping LA's
Energy Future  

 

What if home and business owners could see how their energy consumption stacks up against their peers? What if policymakers could target energy efficiency programs to areas with the highest potential for savings or find important links between land use and energy use? When it comes to energy efficiency, geography may not be quite destiny, but it is an important component in shaping our energy future.

 

Thanks in part to funding from The Energy Network, the Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability (LARC) and the California Center for Sustainable Communities at UCLA (CCSC at UCLA) in partnership with Los Angeles County's Office of Sustainability are developing the first Energy Atlas for the Los Angeles County region. The atlas will include an interactive map and a climate wiki to access best practices for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

 

The atlas will combine new ways to view information with granular data and statistical analysis so energy efficiency efforts can be more narrowly targeted. It will allow homeowners and business owners to compare their energy consumption with others in their area and know immediately if they should be looking at efficiency measures. City planners can make smarter decisions about development as well.

 

The Energy Atlas will be a powerful tool for programs like The Energy Network to address local and regional planning efforts around energy and climate change.
Contractor Engagement Critical to Residential Offerings

 

Anyone can take feedback; it is the follow up that makes all the difference. Understanding that contractors are a key to the success of Energy Upgrade California™ Home Upgrade, The Energy Network has gone to great lengths to take action on the feedback of its Participating Contractors.

 

This month, for example, The Energy Network brought contractor feedback to regulators and helped craft timely program adjustments.

 

It all begins with successful outreach. We are in constant contact with program contractors via email, telephone and face-to-face presentations. One measure of our success is that more than 24 contractors submitted Co-op Marketing matching funds projects. Our contractors told us, among other things, that the tiered incentive program was a bit challenging. We worked with state regulators to quickly address those concerns and were able to roll out a revised design recently. We continue to make adjustments based on further feedback.

 

Our strong relationship with contractors allows us to remain flexible and open to new ideas while staying true to Home Upgrade's goals.

 


About The  
Energy Network 

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The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) created The Energy Network to serve public agencies and their constituencies throughout Southern California.

  

The Energy Network's mission is to harness the collective action of public agencies and their constituents and to help them save energy by providing needed resources and technical expertise. The pilot phase is funded through the end of 2014.

This Program is administered by the County of Los Angeles and funded by California utility ratepayers under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission.