A communication transmitted from Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager, relative to Awaiting Report Item Number 19-101, regarding community outreach and participation of residents, especially low-income households, in Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA) programs and services

C I T Y O F C A M B R I D G E Community Development Department IRAM FAROOQ Assistant City Manager for Community Development SANDRA CLARKE Deputy Director Chief of Administration KHALIL MOGASSABI Deputy Director Chief Planner 344 Broadway Cambridge, MA 02139 Voice: [phone removed] Fax: [phone removed] TTY: [phone removed] www.cambridgema.gov To: Louis A. DePasquale, City Manager From: Iram Farooq, Assistant City Manager for Community Development Re: Awaiting Report 19-101 dated 7/30/19 regarding Cambridge Energy Alliance services and outreach to low-income residents Date: October 2, 2019 In response to Awaiting Report 19-101 dated 7/29/19 regarding community outreach and participation of residents, especially low-income households, in Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA) programs and services, we submit the following. Guided by the City’s overarching goals related to sustainability, community wellbeing, and social equity, the Community Development Department, through CEA, has developed a spectrum of programs and services targeted to reach all members of the community and achieve energy savings and reductions of greenhouse gas emissions over time. Mass Save and Income Eligible Households The primary approach to serving the City’s lower income households is through Mass Save, the statewide utility-sponsored energy efficiency initiative, which offers targeted programs to serve residents who meet income eligibility criteria: • Residential Low-Income Program - serving income-qualifying households in 1-4- unit homes. • Low-Income Energy Affordability Network (LEAN) - serving landlords of 5+ unit buildings with at least 50% of their building occupied by households earning at or below 60% of the Area Median Income. A two-person household in Cambridge earning about $50,000 or less would qualify for these programs. In Cambridge, that income level is approximately 50% of the Household Area Median Family Income (HAMFI) as determined by HUD, which also serves as the threshold for low income status. Approximately 14,200 households in Cambridge earn under 50% of HAMFI, of which we estimate approximately 3,000 are student households and approximately 3,800 are households already residing in an affordable housing unit counted in the City of Cambridge’s Affordable Housing unit inventory, which are primarily served via the LEAN program. Under this program, the landlord enrolls the whole building in the efficiency services. Cambridge’s affordable housing providers (e.g., CHA, JAS, HRI) are highly experienced with the LEAN program and leverage it to lower their ownership operating costs and to reduce their tenants’ energy costs. Of the remaining 7,400 income-qualified households, approximately 4,200 live in 1-4- unit buildings eligible for the Mass Save low-income residential program and an

estimated 3,200 households live in multi-family buildings. Many of Cambridge’s multi- family buildings do not meet the LEAN requirement of having at least 50% of the households in the building meeting low-income requirements, but there are other programs in place to assist tenants and serve those buildings through the market-rate Mass Save multi-family program The Cambridge Fuel Assistance Program offered by the Department of Human Service Programs is the primary intake channel for low-income residents to access weatherization and electricity efficiency services. Last year, Fuel Assistance enrolled 1,417 Cambridge households. The Fuel Assistance office directly refers these households to the Mass Save Low-income Residential Program, which provides services through authorized Community Action Programs. In Cambridge, the providers are CAPIC for electricity efficiency services and Menotomy for weatherization services. Over 100 Fuel Assistance Households were directly referred to CAPIC and Menotomy last year, and Fuel Assistance also provides CAPIC and Menotomy with a complete mailing list for those agencies to directly contact all Fuel Assistance households about the Mass Save Low-income Residential program. City staff are working with CAPIC and Menotomy to develop a tracking system for low-income household enrollment that includes both direct referrals as well as those that enrolled indirectly through the providers. Fuel Assistance also works directly with Cambridge Neighborhood Apartment Housing Services Inc. (CNAHS) to promote both fuel assistance and the low- income energy efficiency programs throughout the city’s affordable housing units. Energy Programs Offered by the Cambridge Energy Alliance To complement the programs provided through Mass Save, CEA offers a comprehensive mix of programs and services to residents and small businesses, which are detailed below. Multi-Family Energy Pilot – In 2017, in collaboration with Eversource/MassSave, the City started providing Multi-Family Retrofit Advisor services, a program that gives renters, owners, landlords, and managers in 5-49-unit buildings access to an independent Retrofit Advisor to help apartment and condo buildings save energy and money. Program includes: • A no-cost, whole-building energy assessment. o Low-income residents, or landlords with low-income residents, are connected to additional incentives available through MassSave’s low- Income programs. • A free solar assessment from an independent Solar Advisor, through the City’s partnership with Cambridge-based Zapotec Energy. • Access to a no-cost Retrofit Advisor through the City’s partnership with the Boston-based non-profit New Ecology, to help buildings identify qualified contractors and compare the technical details of different upgrade options. Sunny Cambridge Solar Program – The City has partnered with Boston-based EnergySage to make it easy for all types of residents and businesses to get solar power for their

buildings. The EnergySage Solar Marketplace, helps residents and businesses request, receive and compare solar quotes 100% online with support available every step of the way. Through this program we also connect low-income households with the state- offered Mass Solar Loan, which offers interest-rate buy-down and incentives applied to the solar loan principal. We also connect middle-income homeowners to the state- offered Solar Access program, which provides income-qualified households with incentives and financing for solar plus heating and cooling using heat pumps. The Cambridge Community Electricity Program (CCE) - Launched in July 2017, CCE serves all residential and commercial Basic Service electricity customers in Cambridge, including low-income residents that qualify for the Eversource Utility Discount Rate. The Utility Discount Rate is for residential customers who receive means-tested benefits such as: Transitional Assistance, SSI benefits, Fuel Assistance, or the Senior Pharmacy program. A 24.9 percent discount is applied to the total bill amount for those enrolled in the Utility Discount Program. All customers, including low-income residents, are automatically enrolled in CCE’s Standard Green electricity offering, with the ability to opt out. Since the program’s launch residents and businesses enrolled in the Cambridge Community Electricity program (over 38,600 accounts) have saved participants over $11 million dollars on their electric bills. Energy Advisor – CEA offers an expert energy efficiency and renewable energy advisor via phone and email to offer guidance and answer questions related to energy efficiency and renewable energy topics. CEA responds to approximately 100 Energy Advisor contacts annually. Households Served by CEA CEA directly serves over 500 households each year through its programs (attached), in addition to the Community Electricity Program. However, tracking the impact of our engagement and outreach efforts has been challenging, and we continue to work with Eversource and other partners to be able to consistently track and document Cambridge households referred through CEA’s community outreach efforts and served through their programs. The most recent Mass Save Data for Cambridge (2016) shows: Annual MWh Usage Annual MWh Savings Electric Incentives Annual Therm Usage Annual Therm Savings Gas Incentives Residential & Low-Income 232,460 7,187 $1,494,930 23,320,875 237,759 $1,460,385 Commercial & Industrial 1,745,48 5 32,377 $6,224,240 170,335,786 1,774,088 $2,335,030

Program Outreach Renter Energy Savings Program (see attached press release) – The City has just launched a partnership with All In Energy, a Boston-based nonprofit, to increase and enhance energy efficiency outreach to renters and landlords in 1-4 unit buildings. All In Energy’s outreach model focuses on underserved populations – including renters, moderate-income households, non-native English speakers, and people of color – to help them save money on their utility bills by connecting them with energy efficiency resources and renewable energy programs. All In Energy uses broad-based community engagement to enroll renters including: • Mailing 14,000 renters and landlords staggered across the year inviting them to enroll in the program and to attend quarterly information sessions • 21 hours/week of grassroots community engagement through: o Tabling in retail spaces o Presentations to local organizations such as community groups, houses of worship, college student groups, and elementary schools o Door-to-door canvassing o Email, social media, earned media communications All In Energy is also directing low-income residents to the Mass Save Low-income Residential program described above and has established communication with Fuel Assistance, CAPIC and Menotomy to help guide low-income residents to all services they are eligible for. The contract with All In Energy also includes a workforce development component, geared toward expanding clean energy job opportunities for individuals in underrepresented groups through a paid, hands-on training program and professional accreditation. CEA engages in about 25 community outreach events each year, ranging from Fresh Pond Day to family STEAM nights at Cambridge Public Schools, and provides translated brochures about energy efficiency for renters. The Community Electricity program is equipped to handle phone calls in many languages. CEA maintains Facebook and Twitter social media accounts and a blog, as well as energy efficiency and renewable energy information on the following websites: • cambridgema.gov • cambridgeenergyalliance.org • sunnycambridge.org • masspowerchoice.com/Cambridge Because the Cambridge Fuel Assistance Program is the primary gateway for low- income residents to access weatherization and electricity efficiency services, CEA displays Fuel Assistance information at all outreach activities. When launching a new program, CEA implements the following:

• Targeted mailing to every Cambridge resident/business eligible for the program. • Two-three public meetings, including senior center locations. • Messages about the program inserted into every Cambridge water bill, as applicable. • Messages about the program distributed through Cambridge Public School Department backpack announcements, as applicable. • Press release and social media posts encouraging enrollment. • City Hall lawn sign, street banners and BlueBikes ads encouraging enrollment. • Fliers at high traffic locations throughout the City including City Hall, 344 Broadway, Senior Centers, and the Consumers Council and Cambridge Public Schools (as applicable). • Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program interns engage hundreds of residents each summer through street canvassing and high-traffic tabling as well as fliers in local parks and businesses. • Door-knocking efforts, often with local community organizations like Mothers Out Front, Green Cambridge, Neighborhood Solar and 350 Mass, as applicable. We also include our information in Cambridge Police Department door-knocking information fliers. • Posting of news stories on the City’s homepage. Annual National Energy Efficiency Month - Each October, during National Energy Awareness Month, CEA coordinates increased social media outreach. This year we: • Posted a news story on the City homepage on October 2 that highlights our new Renter Energy Efficiency initiative with All In Energy, the Multifamily Energy Program, and a video of our recent Boston Channel 25 News interview about energy efficiency tips. • Added direct social media / #EEDay2019 hashtag to City homepage news story on October 2nd and continued promotion throughout the month. Planned Outreach Initiatives • Planned outreach initiatives include more direct communication via the City website, enhanced community engagement through future CDD team that will be developed, and work with existing partners to explore additional avenues for reaching target populations.