National Cooling Standards Initiative

State and Territory Energy Office Summer Webinar Series

Cooling Technology, State Climate Plans, and Low-Income Households

Hosted by NASEO, CEPC, and the ClimateWorks Foundation

The Center for Energy Poverty and Climate (CEPC), the ClimateWorks Foundation, and the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) are hosting a series of webinars during June and July 2024 to discuss several topics related to state energy plans, cooling technology, and low-income populations. Each session will include presentations by expert speakers that lay out the problem and potential solutions, followed by a moderated discussion between participants and speakers.

Session 1: Preview of CEPC/NASEO Report: Beating the Heat: Recommendations and Considerations for States to Support Cost-Effective Residential Cooling

Tuesday, June 4, 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. EST

In this first session, NASEO and CEPC previewed their new report “Beating the Heat: Recommendations and Considerations for States to Support Cost-Effective Residential Cooling.” The report offers guidance for State and Territory Energy Offices about cost-effective residential cooling, including topics such as centering consumer protections and affordability, determining how to prioritize households, and fostering interagency and intergovernmental partnerships.

Session 2: Protecting Vulnerable Populations from Extreme Heat

Thursday, June 13, 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. EST

In this session, Dr. Christopher Worsham of Harvard Medical School and Katherine Catalano of the Center for Climate, Health and Equity at the American Public Health Association discussed the ways in which low-income populations are even more vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat due to lack of adequate cooling. Dr. Worsham and Ms. Catalano also highlighted the need for public health data to inform public policy and discussed potential ways to combat the urban heat island effect, which many low-income families that live in urban areas are affected by.  

Session 3: State Examples of Comprehensive Affordable Cooling Strategies

Thursday, June 20, 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. EST

In this session, State and Territory Energy Officials from Arizona, Hawai’i, and New York presented on the ways in which they are currently addressing the need for cooling in their states. Maren Mahoney from the Arizona Governor’s Office of Resilience presented on Arizona’s 2024 Extreme Heat Preparedness Plan; Howard Wiig from the Hawai’i State Energy Office gave an update on the progress of Hawai’i’s Cool Surfaces program; and Christopher Coll from the New York Department of Public Services discussed New York’s Energy Affordability Guarantee.

Session 4: Funding & Financing the Energy Transition, Braiding Federal & State Funds

Tuesday, July 2, 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. EST

In this final session, experts discussed potential ways to braid federal and state programs in order to help low-income households weatherize their homes and respond to rising summer temperatures. Jill Eikenhorst, Solar Section Supervisor at the Washington State Department of Commerce, shared details of Washington’s Clean Energy Grant Plan. Leanne Kaplan, Infrastructure Alliance Partnerships and Program Manager at the Communities First Fund, explained how the Fund’s State Implementation Accelerator works and also provided resources for navigating and understanding federal funding streams around weatherization and climate equity.