GRANT FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

Non-Energy Impacts of Integrated Energy Retrofit Packages from the Equitable Building Decarbonization Program

EPIC Program

GFO-25-305-02

https://www.energy.ca.gov/funding-opportunities/solicitation

State of California

California Energy Commission

April 2026

Table of Contents

I. Introduction 1

A. Purpose of Solicitation 1

B. Key Words/Terms 3

C. Project Focus 5

D. Funding 8

E. Key Activities Schedule 9

F. Notice of Pre-Application Workshop 10

G. Questions 10

H. Applicants’ Admonishment 11

I. Additional Requirements regarding environmental review 12

J. Background 13

K. Match Funding 19

L. Funds Spent in California 21

II. Eligibility Requirements 23

A. Applicant Requirements 23

B. Project Requirements 25

III. Application Submission Instructions 26

A. Application Format, Page Limits 26

B. Method For Delivery 26

C. Application Content 27

IV. Evaluation and Award Process 32

A. Application Evaluation 32

B. Ranking, Notice of Proposed Award, and Agreement Development 32

C. Grounds to Reject an Application or Cancel an Award 33

D. Miscellaneous 34

E. Stage One: Application Screening 37

F. Stage Two: Application Scoring 39

Attachments Attachment Number Title of Section 1 Executive Summary Form 2 Project Narrative Form 3 Project Team Form 4 Scope of Work Template 5 Project Schedule 6 Budget 7 CEQA Compliance Form 8 Past Projects Information Form 9 Commitment and Support Letters Form (requires signature) 10 Project Performance Metrics 11 Applicant Declarations (requires signature)

I. Introduction

A. Purpose of Solicitation

The purpose of this solicitation is to fund an applied research and development project that informs California’s transition to an equitable, zero-carbon energy system that is climate resilient and meets environmental goals.

Applied research supported by this solicitation is intended to assess the impact of consolidated packages of electrified retrofit measures on air quality and other related impact categories, including health impacts, resilience to extreme heat, indoor comfort, and cost savings in California homes. Specifically, research funded under this solicitation will leverage a study sample from the Equitable Building Decarbonization (EBD) Statewide Direct Install Program. The research will identify and assess non-energy benefits of home electrification and evaluate key interested parties’ (e.g., residents, contractors, landlords) experience with the retrofitting process. Ultimately, this work will provide guidance on how these benefits could be considered in strategies and decisions to retrofit or replace gas-fueled appliances with electric and support California’s residential electrification efforts.

Research funded by this solicitation will be done in collaboration with the EBD Statewide Direct Install Program that will install retrofit measures in low-income households located in under-resourced communities. Assembly Bill (AB) 209 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 251, Statutes of 2022) directed the California Energy Commission (CEC) to develop the EBD program, including a direct install program in which three regional administrators will work with Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) to conduct outreach and select homes for retrofits. Eligible measures include heat pumps for heating and cooling, heat pump water heaters, improvements to the building envelope, cooking and laundry appliances, lighting, electrical upgrades, and remediation and safety improvements.

In addition to the energy benefits that can be achieved by the EBD program, there are important non-energy impacts to households such as changes to air quality, heat resilience, comfort, and household finances that may result from the program. There has been increasing interest in developing a body of research to robustly substantiate non-energy impacts to capture the full costs and benefits of California’s energy transition, particularly to low-income households and justice communities, promoting easier and wider adoption of the most beneficial technologies. Previous and current CEC-funded research has explored integrated energy retrofit packages in a variety of contexts,,, as well as the impact of kitchen electrification interventions on air quality and health outcomes in low-income and justice communities. An ongoing EPIC grant, “Tri-County Benefits of Electrification for Affordability, Comfort, and Health” (3C-BEACH, EPC-24-042), led by the County of Ventura, will assess the impact of consolidated and separate electrification retrofit measures on non-energy impact metrics in California homes and provide guidance on how non-energy benefits can be considered in decision-making to replace gas-fueled equipment with electric. 3C-BEACH will quantify the impacts of these improvements in a statistically significant sample of homes in Ventura County, San Luis Obispo County, and Santa Barbara County using the established metrics. Additional empirical evidence from a variety of household types, geographic and demographic contexts, and programmatic approaches is needed to ensure prioritization of the most beneficial building decarbonization strategies for California’s diverse housing stock. With the EBD program, there is an opportunity to leverage a large sample of homes to collect further data on non-energy impacts and benefits.

Projects must fall within the following project groups:

• Group 1: Non-Energy Impacts of Integrated Energy Retrofit Packages from the EBD Program

See Section II of this solicitation for eligibility requirements. Applications will be evaluated as described in Section IV of this solicitation.

Prospective applicants looking for partnering opportunities for this funding opportunity should register on the California Energy Commission’s Empower Innovation website at www.empowerinnovation.net

B. Key Words/Terms

Word/Term	Definition
Applicant	An entity that submits an application to this solicitation.
Application	An applicant’s written response to this solicitation.
Authorized Representative	The person submitting the application who has authority to enter into an agreement with the CEC.
California Native American Tribe	A Native American Tribe located in California that is on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission for the purposes of Chapter 905 of the Statutes of 2004 (Pub. Resources Code, § 21073).
California Tribal Organization	A corporation, association, or group controlled, sanctioned, or chartered by a California Native American tribe that is subject to its laws, the laws of the State of California, or the laws of the United States.
CAM	Commission Agreement Manager, the person designated by the CEC to oversee the performance of an agreement resulting from this solicitation and to serve as the main point of contact for the grant recipient.
CAO	Commission Agreement Officer, the person designated by the CEC to oversee the internal administrative processes and to serves as the main point of contact for solicitation applicants.
CBO	Community Based Organization, a public or private nonprofit organization of demonstrated effectiveness that: a) Has deployed projects and/or outreach efforts within the region (e.g., air basin or county) of the proposed disadvantaged or low-income community or similar community. b) Has an official mission and vision statements that expressly identifies serving disadvantaged and/or low-income communities. c) Currently employs staff member(s) who specialized in and are dedicated to – diversity, or equity, or inclusion, or is a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
CEC	State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission or , the California Energy Commission.
CEC funds	CEC funds are EPIC grant funds awarded under this solicitation. Also referred to as grant funds.
CEQA	California Environmental Quality Act, California Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq.
Days	Days refers to calendar days.
Disadvantaged Community	Communities designated pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 39711 as representing the top 25% scoring census tracts from CalEnviroScreen along with other areas with high amounts of pollution and low populations as identified by the California Environmental Protection Agency. (https://oehha.ca.gov/calenviroscreen/report/calenviroscreen-40)
Energy Equity	The fair distribution of benefits and burdens from energy production and consumption.
EPIC	Electric Program Investment Charge, the source of funding for the projects awarded under this solicitation.
EBD	Equitable Building Decarbonization Program, a CEC program that includes a Direct Install Program that provides decarbonization retrofits to low- and moderate-income households.
IOU	Investor-owned utility, an electrical corporation as defined in California Public Utilities Code section 218. For purposes of this solicitation, it includes Pacific Gas and Electric Co., San Diego Gas and Electric Co., and Southern California Edison Co.
Low Income Community	Communities within census tracts with median household incomes at or below 80 percent of the statewide median income or the applicable low-income threshold listed in the state income limits updated by the Department of Housing and Community Development. (https://www.hcd.ca.gov/grants-and-funding/income-limits)
Major Subrecipient	A Subrecipient that is budgeted to receive $100,000 or more of CEC funds, not including any equipment or match funds that may be provide by the Subrecipient.
NOPA	Notice of Proposed Award, a public notice by CEC staff that identifies proposed grant recipients.
Pre-Commercial Technology	A technology that has not reached commercial maturity or been deployed at scales sufficiently large and in conditions sufficiently reflective of anticipated actual operating environments to enable the appraisal of operational and performance characteristics, or of financial risks.
Pilot Test	Small scale testing in a laboratory or testing on a small portion of the production line of the affected industry. Pilot tests help verify the design and validity of an approach, and adjustments can be made at this stage before full-scale demonstrations
Principal Investigator	The technical lead for the applicant’s project, who is responsible for overseeing the project; in some instances, the Principal Investigator and Project Manager may be the same person.
Project Manager	The person designated by the applicant to oversee the project and to serve as the main point of contact for the CEC.
Project Partner	A person or entity that contributes financially or otherwise to the project (e.g., match funding, provision of a test, demonstration or deployment site) and does not receive CEC funds.
Recipient	A person or entity receiving a grant award under this solicitation. “Recipient” may be used interchangeably with “grant recipient”.
Solicitation	This entire document, including all attachments, exhibits, addenda, written notices, and questions and answers (“solicitation” may be used interchangeably with “Grant Funding Opportunity” or “GFO”).
Subrecipient	A person or entity that receives grant funds directly from a grant Recipient and is entrusted to make decisions about how to conduct some of the grant’s activities. A Subrecipient’s role involves discretion over grant activities and is not merely just selling goods or services.
Sub-Subrecipient	Has the same meaning as a Subrecipient except that it receives grant funds from a Subrecipient or any lower tier level of a Sub-Subrecipient.
State	State of California
Under-resourced Community	For the EBD program, an under-resourced community is defined as a community located in one or more of the following geographic areas: • Disadvantaged communities designated by the California Environmental Protection Agency for purposes of Senate Bill 535 (De León, Chapter 830, Statutes of 2012) (required for at least 65 percent of expenditures in each of the northern, central, and southern regions) • Census tracts with median household incomes at or below 80 percent of the statewide median income • Census tracts with median household incomes at or below the threshold designated as low-income by the Department of Housing and Community Development
Vendor	A person or entity that sells goods or services to the grant Recipient, Subrecipient, or any lower-tiered level of Sub-Subrecipient, in exchange for some of the grant funds, and does not make decisions about how to perform the grant’s activities. The Vendor’s role is ministerial and does not involve discretion over grant activities.

C. Project Focus

This proposed research will target multiple policy objectives of decarbonization, equity, improved air quality and health outcomes, heat resilience, and affordability. Researchers will work with a sample of homes that are selected for retrofits by the EBD Program administrators to study the impacts of energy-related interventions (electrification and energy efficiency retrofits). Impacts will be studied in a diverse sample of households, including single and multifamily homes.

Applicants should demonstrate familiarity with publicly available materials related to the EBD program and with regional administrators’ approaches and make clear how the proposed research adds value and is not duplicative (for example, see Background Information below).

Research supported by this solicitation aims to understand impacts of integrated packages of electrified retrofits and must demonstrate the capacity for:

• Collaboration with California’s EBD Program to identify a study sample out of the homes receiving retrofits.

• Meaningful and justified sample size of homes.

o Identification of geographic region(s) of California in which researchers are prepared to conduct fieldwork.

• Applicant must demonstrate sufficient scope and flexibility to enable harmonization with EBD program implementation, details of which will be evolving and are outside the scope of EPIC funds.

o Inclusion of a diverse sample of homes in terms of housing type, climate zone, and geography (with two or more communities represented). For the purposes of this solicitation, communities can be defined as distinct geographic, demographic, or jurisdictional areas—such as different municipalities, neighborhoods with differing socioeconomic profiles, or urban/suburban/rural classifications. Applicants should be explicit about how they are defining communities and must include homes from at least two such communities.

o Inclusion of a minimum of 50% of homes from Investor-Owned Utility (IOU) service areas.

• Proposed plan for coordinated outreach for home recruitment and surveying to ensure EBD program administrator and research team communications with EBD participants are not duplicative.

• Development of metrics and analytical approaches to evaluate air quality and other impacts such as health impacts, comfort, heat resilience, and energy costs of the residents and/or homeowners.

o Applicants must discuss methods to measure impact metrics of interest.

o Applicants must discuss how this adds value to (and is not duplicative of) what has been proposed, and is being implemented, by EBD program administrators.

• Measurement of performance of new measures for indoor air quality and related impacts such as health impacts, comfort, heat resilience, and costs before and after the installations.

• Development of insights into what works and does not work for residents and/or homeowners and contractors to situate programs for success.

• Research to illuminate how to scale up an integrated retrofitting approach and the associated costs, barriers, and benefits of scaling up.

• Based on the field data and observations, articulation of strategies for reducing cost and enhancing benefits, communicating the non-energy and indirect benefits, and best practices for interested parties.

o Presentation of findings to the EBD Program.

Specific research projects may include:

• Development of metrics and measurement of other non-energy impacts to households, workforce, and other interested parties.

To facilitate coordination with the EBD program, staff from the CEC will:

• Support researchers' coordination with EBD program administrators to identify a sufficiently large sample of homes, with a range of retrofit packages, for researchers to conduct pre- and post-installation measurements.

Background Information

The EBD Statewide Direct Install Program was established to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in homes while advancing energy equity across California. The program was authorized by AB 209 (Chapter 251, Statutes of 2022) and is administered by the CEC. It provides no-cost installation of energy-efficient electric appliances, weatherization improvements, and related upgrades for low-income households in under-resourced communities. The program also aims to benefit low-income households and communities by improving resiliency to extreme heat and poor air quality while promoting energy affordability, grid reliability, and local workforce opportunities.

In October 2023, the CEC adopted official program guidelines outlining eligibility requirements, funding allocations, and implementation strategies. In April 2024, the CEC released Grant Funding Opportunity GFO-23-404 to select three regional administrators. Approved at the November 2024 CEC Business Meeting, the Association for Energy Affordability oversees the Northern California region, the Center for Sustainable Energy manages the Central region, and the County of Los Angeles leads the Southern region. Each administrator has partnered with CBOs to provide education, enrollment support, and implementation services. More information about the regional administrators and their partners can be found on the EBD webpage. Initial community focus areas have been selected based on criteria from the program guidelines, and additional communities will have an opportunity to participate in subsequent phases. Participant outreach has started in several initial community focus areas and will ramp up in the coming months.

Regional administrators are required to collect and report on specified metrics to track progress towards program goals. In addition, regional administrators are required to coordinate with other programs and public interest research. This includes coordinating with CEC-approved public interest research programs to advance research or evaluate the efficacy or impact of building decarbonization technologies as opportunities arise.

D. Funding

1. Amount Available and Minimum/ Maximum Funding Amounts

There is up to $3,000,000 available for grants awarded under this solicitation. The total, minimum, and maximum funding amounts for each project group are listed below.

Project Group	Available CEC funding	Minimum CEC award	Maximum CEC award	Minimum total match share percentage
Non-Energy Impacts of Integrated Energy Retrofit Packages from the EBD Program	$3,000,000	$2,900,000	$3,000,000	0%

2. Match Funding Requirement

Match funding is not required for this solicitation. However, applications that include match funding may receive additional points during the scoring phase (see Scoring Criteria in Section IV F).

Total match share percentage is calculated by dividing the total match share contributions by the total CEC funds requested plus total match share contributions:

X 100 = Total Match Share percentage

For the definition of match funding see Section I K.

3. Change in Funding Amount

Along with any other rights and remedies available to it, the CEC reserves the right to:

• Increase or decrease the available funding and the minimum/maximum grant award amounts described in this section.

• Allocate any additional or unawarded funds to passing applications, in rank order.

• Reduce funding to an appropriate amount if the budgeted funds do not provide full funding for agreements. In this event, the proposed grant recipient and Commission Agreement Manager (CAM) will attempt to reach agreement on a reduced Scope of Work commensurate with available funding.

E. Key Activities Schedule

Key activities, dates, and times for this solicitation and for agreements resulting from this solicitation are presented below. An addendum will be released if the dates change for activities that appear in bold.

ACTIVITY	DATE	TIME
Solicitation Release	April 9, 2026
Pre-Application Workshop	April 24, 2026	9:00 a.m.-11 a.m.
Deadline for Written Questions	May 8, 2026	5:00 p.m.
Anticipated Distribution of Questions and Answers	Week of May 25, 2026
Support for Application Submission in ECAMS	[July 10, 2026] July 17, 2026	5:00 p.m.
Deadline to Submit Applications	[July 10, 2026] July 17, 2026	11:59 p.m.
Anticipated Notice of Proposed Award Posting Date	Week of Sep. 21, 2026
Anticipated Energy Commission Business Meeting Date	Dec. 9, 2026
Anticipated Agreement Start Date	February 1, 2027
Anticipated Agreement End Date	March 31, 2030

F. Notice of Pre-Application Workshop

CEC staff will hold one Pre-Application Workshop to discuss this solicitation with potential applicants. Participation is optional but encouraged. The Pre-Application Workshop will be held remotely. Applicants may attend the workshop via the internet (Zoom, see instructions below), or via conference call on the date and at the time and location listed below. Please refer to the CEC's website at www.energy.ca.gov/contracts/index.html to confirm the date and time. Please be aware that the meeting will be recorded.

Date and time: April 24, 2026, 9:00 AM Pacific Time

Zoom Instructions:

To join the Zoom meeting, go to https://zoom.us/joinand enter the Meeting ID below and select “join from your browser.” Participants will then enter the meeting password listed below and their name. Participants will select the “Join” button.:

Meeting ID: 860 1218 8844

Meeting Password: 381278

Topic: GFO-25-305 Pre-Application Workshop

Telephone Access Only:

Call 1-888 475 4499 (Toll Free) or 1-877 853 5257 (Toll Free). When prompted, enter the meeting number above. International callers may select a number from the Zoom International Dial-in Number List at: https://energy.zoom.us/u/adjzKUXvoy. To comment, dial *9 to “raise your hand” and *6 to mute/unmute your phone line.

Access by Mobile Device:

Download the application from the Zoom Download Center, https://energy.zoom.us/download.

Technical Support for Pre-Application Workshop:

• For assistance with problems or questions about joining or attending the meeting,

please call Zoom Technical Support at 1-888-799-9666 ext. 2. You may also contact the CEC’s Public Advisor’s Office at publicadvisor@energy.ca.gov, or (916) 957-7910.

• System Requirements: To determine whether your computer is compatible, visit:

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362023-System-requirements-for-Windows-macOS-and-Linux.

• If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate, please Erica Rodriguez by e-mail at Erica.Rodriguez@energy.ca.gov or (916) 764-5705 at least five days in advance.

G. Questions

During the solicitation process, for questions only related to submission of application in the new ECAMS system, please contact ECAMS.SalesforceSupport@energy.ca.gov . Through that email address applicants will be able to access a team of technical assistants who can answer questions about application submission. Please also see Section III.B for additional information about the ECAMS system.

For all other questions, including all technical and administrative questions that are not related to submission of applications in the ECAMS system, please contact the Commission Agreement Officer listed below:

Natalie Johnson

Commission Agreement Officer

California Energy Commission

715 P, MS-18

Sacramento, California 95814

E-mail: Natalie.Johnson@energy.ca.gov

Applicants may ask questions at the Pre-Application Workshop and may submit written questions via email. However, all technical questions must be received by the deadline listed in the “Key Activities Schedule” above. Questions received after the deadline may be answered at the CEC's discretion. Non-technical questions (e.g., administrative questions concerning application format requirements or attachment instructions) may be submitted to the CAO at any time prior to 5:00 p.m. of the application deadline date. Similarly, questions related to submission of applications in the ECAMS system may be submitted to ECAMS.SalesforceSupport@energy.ca.gov at any time prior to 5:00 p.m. of the application deadline date.

The questions and answers will also be posted on the CEC’s website at: https://www.energy.ca.gov/funding-opportunities/solicitations .

If an applicant discovers a conflict, discrepancy, omission, or other error in the solicitation at any time prior 5:00 p.m. of the application deadline date, the applicant may notify the CAO in writing and request modification or clarification of the solicitation. The CEC, at its discretion will provide modifications or clarifications by either an addendum to the solicitation or by written notice to all entities that requested the solicitation. At its discretion, the CEC may, in addition to any other actions it may choose, re-open the question/answer period to provide all applicants the opportunity to seek any further clarification required.

Any verbal communication with a CEC employee or anyone else concerning this solicitation is not binding on the State and will in no way alter a specification, term, or condition of the solicitation. Therefore, all communication should be directed in writing to the assigned CAO.

H. Applicants’ Admonishment

This solicitation contains application requirements and instructions. Applicants are responsible for carefully reading the entire solicitation, asking appropriate questions in a timely manner, ensuring that all solicitation requirements are met, submitting all required responses in a complete manner by the required date and time, and carefully rereading the solicitation before submitting an application. In particular, please carefully read the Screening and Scoring Criteria and Grounds to Reject an Application or Cancel an Award in Part IV, and the relevant EPIC Grant terms and conditions located at: https://www.energy.ca.gov/funding-opportunities/funding-resources.

Applicants are solely responsible for the cost of developing applications. This cost cannot be charged to the State. All submitted documents will become publicly available records and property of the State after the CEC posts the Notice of Proposed Award or the solicitation is cancelled. Only submit information you want made public. Applicants shall not submit any confidential information as part of their applications. No portion of your application will be considered confidential.

I. Additional Requirements regarding environmental review

• Time is of the essence. CEC funds available under this solicitation have encumbrance deadlines as early as June 30, 2027.  This means that the CEC must approve proposed awards at a business meeting (usually held monthly) prior to June 30, 2027, to avoid expiration of the funds.

• Environmental Review. Prior to approval and encumbrance, the CEC must comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and other requirements. To comply with CEQA, the CEC must have CEQA-related information from applicants and sometimes other entities, such as local governments, in a timely manner. Unfortunately, even with this information, the CEC may not be able to complete its CEQA review prior to the encumbrance deadline for every project. For example, if a project requires an Environmental Impact Report, the process to complete it can take many months. For these reasons, it is critical that applicants organize applications in a manner that minimizes the time required for the CEC to comply with CEQA and provide all CEQA-related information to the CEC in a timely manner such that the CEC is able to complete its review in time for it to meet its encumbrance deadline.

• Reservation of right to cancel proposed award. In addition to any other right reserved to it under this solicitation or that it otherwise has, if the CEC determines, in its sole and absolute discretion, that the CEQA review associated with a proposed project would not likely be completed prior to the encumbrance deadline referenced above, and that the CEC’s ability to meet its encumbrance deadline may thereby be jeopardized, the CEC may cancel a proposed award and award funds to the next highest scoring applicant, regardless of the originally proposed applicant’s diligence in submitting information and materials for CEQA review. Examples of situations that may arise related to CEQA review include but are not limited to:

• Example 1: If another state agency or local jurisdiction, such as a city or county, has taken the role of lead agency under CEQA, the CEC’s review may be delayed while waiting for a determination from the lead agency.

• Example 2: If the proposed work is part of a larger project for which a detailed environmental analysis has been or will be prepared by another state agency or local jurisdiction, the CEC’s review may be delayed as a result of waiting for a supplemental or initial analysis, respectively, from the other agency.

• Example 3: If the nature of the proposed work is such that a project is not categorically or otherwise exempt from the requirements of CEQA, and an Initial Study or other detailed environmental analysis appears to be necessary, the CEC’s review, or the lead agency’s review, may take longer than the time available to encumber the funds. If an Initial Study, Negative Declaration, Mitigated Negative Declaration, Environmental Impact Report, or similar document has already been completed by another state agency or a local jurisdiction, serving as the lead agency, the applicant must ensure that such an analysis covers the work in the proposed project, or must obtain a revised analysis and determination from the lead agency reviewing the proposed project.

• Example 4: If the proposed project clearly falls under a statutory or categorical exemption, or is project for which another state agency or local jurisdiction has already completed its environmental review and adopted CEQA findings that the project will cause no significant effect on the environment, the project will likely have greater success in attaining rapid completion of CEQA requirements.

The above examples are not exhaustive of instances in which the CEC may or may not be able to comply with CEQA within the encumbrance deadline and are only provided as further clarification for potential applicants. Applicants are encouraged to contact potential lead and responsible agencies under CEQA as early as possible. Please plan applications accordingly.

J. Background

1. Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) Program

This solicitation will award projects funded by the EPIC program, an electricity ratepayer surcharge established by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in December 2011. The purpose of the EPIC program is to benefit the ratepayers of three investor-owned utilities (IOUs), including Pacific Gas and Electric Co., San Diego Gas and Electric Co., and Southern California Edison Co. The EPIC funds clean energy technology projects that meet the guiding principles of (1) improving safety, (2) increasing reliability, (3) increasing affordability, (4) improving environmental sustainability, and (5) improving equity, all as related to California's electric system. In addition to providing IOU ratepayer benefits, funded projects must lead to technological advancement and breakthroughs to overcome the barriers that prevent the achievement of the state’s statutory energy goals. The EPIC program is administered by the CEC and the IOUs.

• Program Areas, Strategic Objectives, and Funding Initiatives

EPIC projects must fall within the following program areas identified by the CPUC:

• Applied research and development;

• Technology demonstration and deployment; and

• Market facilitation.

In addition, projects must fall within one of the general focus areas (“strategic objectives”) identified in the CEC’s EPIC Investment Plans and within one or more specific focus areas (“funding initiatives”) identified in the plan. This solicitation targets the following program area, strategic objective, and funding initiative:

2021-2025 EPIC Investment Plan

• Program Area: Applied Research and Development

• Strategic Objective: Inform California's Transition to an Equitable, Zero-Carbon Energy System that is Climate-Resilient and Meets Environmental Goals

o Initiative 43: Environmental Sustainability

Applicable Laws, Policies, and Background Documents

This solicitation addresses the energy goals described in the following laws, policies, and background documents.

Laws/Regulations

• Disadvantaged & Low-income Communities

The CEC is committed to ensuring all Californians have an opportunity to participate in and benefit from programs and services. While it is not required to complete the project within a disadvantaged or low-income community, demonstration projects located and benefiting disadvantaged and/or low-income communities will be considered under the scoring criteria for this solicitation.

• Assembly Bill (AB) 32 - Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006

AB 32 created a comprehensive program to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in California. GHG reduction strategies include a reduction mandate of 1990 levels by 2020 and a cap-and-trade program. AB 32 also designates the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as the state agency charged with monitoring and regulating sources of GHG emissions and requires CARB to develop a Scoping Plan that describes the approach California will take to reduce GHGs. CARB must update the plan at least once every five years.

Additional information: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=200520060AB32http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/15-16/bill/sen/sb_0001-0050/sb_32_bill_20160908_chaptered.htm;

https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/ab-32-climate-change-scoping-plan

Applicable Law: California Health and Safety Code §§ 38500 et. seq.

• Senate Bill (SB) 32 - California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: emissions limit

SB 32 expands on AB 32 by requiring that CARB ensure statewide GHG emissions are reduced to 40 percent below the 1990 level by no later than December 31, 2030. SB 32 further requires that these emission reductions are achieved in a manner that benefits the state’s most disadvantaged communities and is transparent and accountable to the public and the Legislature.

Additional information: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB32

Applicable Law: California Health and Safety Code § 38566.

• Senate Bill (SB) X1-2 - Renewables Portfolio Standard,

SB X1-2 expanded California’s Renewables Portfolio Standard goals and requires retail sellers of electricity and local publicly owned electric utilities to increase their procurement of eligible renewable energy resources to 20 percent by the end of 2013, 25 percent by the end of 2016, and 33 percent by the end of 2020.

Applicable Law: California Public Utilities Code § 399.11 et seq.

• AB 758, Building Efficiency

AB 758 directs CEC to collaborate with the CPUC and interested parties to develop a comprehensive program to achieve greater energy and water savings in existing residential and nonresidential buildings. This resulted in the Existing Buildings Energy Efficiency Action Plan, adopted in 2015 and updated in 2016 and 2019, which provided a framework for state and local governments, building industries, and other interested parties, to increase energy efficiency in existing residential, commercial, and public buildings.

Additional information: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=200920100AB758; https://www.energy.ca.gov/programs-and-topics/programs/energy-efficiency-existing-buildings

Applicable Law: California Public Resources Code § 25943, California Public Utilities Code §§ 381.2 and 385.2

• AB 3232 Zero-Emissions Buildings and Sources of Heat Energy,

AB 3232 requires the CEC by January 1, 2021, to evaluate the possibility of the state to reduce GHG emissions from the state’s residential and commercial building stock by at least 40 percent below 1990 levels by January 1, 2030. It also requires the commission to include in the 2021 edition of the integrated energy policy report and all subsequent integrated energy policy reports a report on the emissions of GHGs associated with the supply of energy to residential and commercial buildings.

Additional information: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB3232

• SB 350 - Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015

SB 350, among other directives, expanded on AB 758 by directing CEC to establish annual targets to achieve a cumulative doubling of statewide energy efficiency savings in electricity and natural gas final end uses of retail customers by January 1, 2030. This resulted in the SB 350 Doubling of Energy Efficiency by 2030 (Doubling Report), which expanded the focus of the Existing Buildings Energy Efficiency Action Plan from existing buildings to include agriculture, industry, newly constructed buildings, conservation voltage reduction, and fuel substitution. CEC subsequently consolidated the Existing Buildings Energy Efficiency Action Plan, Doubling Report, and energy efficiency equity efforts to form a comprehensive roadmap to achieving the state’s energy efficiency and building decarbonization goals in the 2019 California Energy Efficiency Action Plan.

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