Clean Energy EXPO 2026: Lowering Household Energy Bills

The 29th Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO and Policy Forum was held on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. The event was hosted by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), with the House and Senate Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (REEE) Caucuses serving as honorary co-hosts. It featured six panels, including Lowering Household Energy Bills.

Carl Hammerdorfer, Senior Vice President for Programs and Innovation, National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA)

Charlie Haack, Vice President of Technical Services, North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA)

Claire Dépit-Strömbäck, Director of Public Policy, Community Choice Energy Alliance (CCEA)

Highlights

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Buildings are not just consumers of energy. If properly designed, they can become assets that strengthen the grid itself.
Investments in resilient retrofits can deliver multiple benefits simultaneously, such as lower utility costs, reduced peak demand, greater housing resilience, improved public safety, reduced infrastructure requirements, and stronger local energy security.
The Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP) provides low-interest federal loans for energy-saving improvements in homes and businesses—including heating and cooling systems, insulation, appliances, and battery storage—channeled through rural electric cooperatives.
Heating and cooling costs can account for over half of a homeowner's energy bill, but insulation improvements can reduce energy bills over a home’s lifetime and provide additional comfort and resilience.
Community choice aggregation (CCA) is a state-enabled policy tool that allows local governments to aggregate electricity procurement on behalf of all their residents and businesses. This creates bulk buying power, enabling more stable and competitive rates

Katrin Klingenberg, Founder and Co-Executive Director, Phius

Buildings account for roughly 40% of U.S. energy consumption, and much of this energy is lost through poorly performing envelopes, inadequate insulation, and uncontrolled air leakage.
Buildings are not just consumers of energy. If properly designed, they can become assets that strengthen the grid itself. A building that uses 70% less energy places 70% less of a burden on an increasingly stressed grid. Multiplied across thousands of buildings, that becomes a significant energy resource.
Resilience is essential to buildings today. Historically, buildings have been passive consumers of energy, but they have the opportunity to become active infrastructure. Phius’s Revive and Revive Zero building certifications are focused on building resilience, especially for keeping people safe during power outages.
Investments in resilient retrofits can deliver multiple benefits simultaneously, such as lower utility costs, reduced peak demand, greater housing resilience, improved public safety, reduced infrastructure requirements, and stronger local energy security.

There are nearly 65,000 cooperative establishments nationwide, which combined generate $650 billion in revenue and $75 billion in annual wages. NCBA CLUSA’s electric cooperatives (co-ops) deliver power to 42 million Americans across 56% of the nation's land mass and serve 92% of America's persistent poverty counties.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP) provides low-interest federal loans for energy-saving improvements in homes and businesses—including heating and cooling systems, insulation, appliances, and battery storage—channeled through rural electric co-ops. The RESP loans to co-ops are offered at 0% interest, and co-ops then relend to member-customers at 3–5% interest.
RESP loans average around $7,000. They carry no upfront cost to the customer, are repaid via a line item on the utility bill, and do not count against a co-op's debt-to-equity ratio. Projects are designed to be cash-flow positive from day one with customers able to save up to 35% on their energy bills—often more than $1,000 per year.

A study by consulting firm ICF found that 89% of existing U.S. homes are under-insulated, failing to meet insulation levels required by the International Code Council’s 2012 insulation standards.
Heating and cooling costs can account for over half of a homeowner's energy bill, but insulation improvements can reduce energy bills over a home’s lifetime and provide additional comfort and resilience.
NAIMA works to address the under-insulation problem by advocating for the adoption of modern energy codes at the state and local level. It also develops educational resources on appropriate insulation levels by climate zone and on proper installation, including do-it-yourself guides and contractor-referral tools.
Insulation rebates and incentives are available through local utility programs and the Inflation Reduction Act’s (L. 117-169) High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Act (HEEHRA) and Home Owner Managing Energy Savings (HOMES) Rebate programs. The Department of Energy recently opened additional state applications for the HEEHRA and HOMES programs.

Claire Dépit-Strömbäck, Director of Public Policy, Community Choice Energy Alliance (CCEA)

Community choice aggregation (CCA) is a state-enabled policy tool that allows local governments to aggregate electricity procurement on behalf of all their residents and businesses. Over 2,200 local governments across 11 states participate.
CCAs create bulk buying power, enabling more stable and competitive rates. In Ohio and California alone, CCA communities have saved $5 billion over the past 10 years. Nationally, CCA customers save an average of 6% on electricity bills. Many CCAs also offer more renewable energy, with some reaching 100% renewable electricity.
CCAs are built by the community for the community, leading to 85–95% community participation rates. This allows CCAs to build trust within communities and become vehicles to promote federal and state programs and incentives.
Complexity and lack of awareness still represent challenges. Many customers do not know they have a choice in energy procurement, and navigating the full landscape of local, state, and federal incentives is difficult for most consumers. Community-based programs are a key way to address these issues.

Compiled by Jasmyn Mirsepahi and edited for clarity and length. This is not a transcript.

2026 Clean Energy EXPO Policy Forum