FINDING VALUE IN THE ENERGY FUTURE

This report by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) explores how electric utilities can move beyond traditional bill assistance to collaborate with low-and moderate-income (LMI) customers. It identifies new business models leveraging distributed energy resources (DERs) to reduce energy burdens, improve health and environmental outcomes, and create grid value.

• Low-and moderate-income (LMI) customers face significant energy burdens and environmental inequities. Roughly 25% of US households qualify for federal energy assistance, and the median energy burden for low-income households is 7.2% of income, compared to 2.3% for other households. In specific locations like Memphis, TN, this burden can reach 13%. Additionally, 68% of African Americans and 40% of Latino people in the US live near polluting power plants.
• Traditional utility support for LMI customers has relied heavily on bill assistance and discount programs, which are often oversubscribed and budget-constrained. For example, Consolidated Edison (ConEd) has over 400,000 customers on discount programs out of a total of 3.4 million.
• Distributed energy resource (DER) technologies offer new ways to create value for LMI customers and utilities. Energy efficiency can lower bills and improve indoor air quality; distributed generation (solar) can reduce energy burdens; beneficial electrification can displace high-cost fuels like propane and oil; and demand flexibility allows customers to earn revenue through demand-response events.
• The report outlines eight innovative utility program models for LMI customers: (1) on-bill financing for energy efficiency, (2) utility-owned PV systems via lease/subscription, (3) utility-administered philanthropic/government funding for customer-owned systems, (4) utility-provided controllable load devices, (5) innovative income-qualified rate design, (6) thermal electrification for propane/oil customers, (7) solar-plus-storage virtual power plants, and (8) integrated bundles of energy, mobility, water, and broadband services.
• Successful implementation of these models requires a shift in collaboration from simply 'informing' customers to 'empowering' them. This includes moving customers from the role of a passive consumer to that of a service provider or financier and owner. Examples include Duke Energy deferring a fossil-fuel peaker plant in Asheville, NC, following collaboration with the Energy Innovation Task Force.
• Utility business models are shifting between an 'Expanded Monopoly' (where the utility owns/finances assets) and a 'Transformed Platform Operator' (where the utility acts as a neutral host for third-party market activity). DERs drive this shift by giving customers more options to generate power and interact with the system.

APA

Billimoria, S., Chan, C., Henchen, M., & Shwisberg, L. (2018). FINDING VALUE IN THE ENERGY FUTURE. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2018/09/090418-Leap-Utility-Business-Models-V2.9-1.pdf

Chicago

Billimoria, Sherri, Coreina Chan, Mike Henchen, and Lauren Shwisberg. FINDING VALUE IN THE ENERGY FUTURE. RMI, 2018. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2018/09/090418-Leap-Utility-Business-Models-V2.9-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Billimoria |first1=Sherri |last2=Chan |first2=Coreina |last3=Henchen |first3=Mike |last4=Shwisberg |first4=Lauren |title=FINDING VALUE IN THE ENERGY FUTURE |publisher=RMI |date=2018 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2018/09/090418-Leap-Utility-Business-Models-V2.9-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{billimoria2018finding, author = {Billimoria, Sherri and Chan, Coreina and Henchen, Mike and Shwisberg, Lauren}, title = {{FINDING VALUE IN THE ENERGY FUTURE}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2018}, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2018/09/090418-Leap-Utility-Business-Models-V2.9-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }