Maine Conservation Voters joined over 100 advocates and volunteers at the State House for the Power Maine Forward day of action, showing that Mainers are ready for a clean energy future that’s affordable, reliable, and built at home. Credit: Maine Conservation Voters
To: Interested Parties
From: Bill Holland, Vice President, State Policy and Advocacy, LCV
Re: States are the last line of defense against Trump’s attacks on clean energy and raising utility bills
Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans’ attacks on clean energy have led to higher utility bills for Americans nationwide. In response, state leaders across the country are enacting policies that deploy clean energy to lower energy costs and pollution. The Republican budget is expected to add more than $100 a year to Americans’ bills, and his administration’s attempt to block and limit wind and solar energy could cost even more.
State and local leaders continue to provide a different path focused on deploying clean energy at scale, reducing pollution, and lowering utility bills. In recent weeks, we’ve seen actions like California governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order to speed up clean energy projects eligible for federal Inflation Reduction Act tax credits before they expire, and New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherril’s No Rate Hikes pledge that she made on the campaign trail last month. These actions follow months of significant steps taken at the state level to build renewables and protect ratepayers around the country.
Below we break down the most important laws passed by state legislatures and actions taken by governors so far this year that support the clean energy economy and advance state climate goals. In partnership with groups across the country, the League of Conservation Voters’ state affiliates in the Conservation Voter Movement have rallied the public and won meaningful progress nationwide. Together, they understand that our collective response has never been more important. State action is critical to not only hold the line against federal attacks, but to keep the country moving forward on climate.
Regional electricity collaboration: Authorized the state electricity grid operator to collaborate with other states, paving the way for the creation of an independently-managed Western regional electricity grid, like those that exist in the Eastern side of the country.
Energy affordability and wildfire safety: Set up a public financing system to fund the construction of major utility projects such as electricity transmission and wildfire mitigation to save ratepayers money . The law also barred utilities from profiting on the first $6 billion in costs from fire safety improvements and added $18 billion to the state’s wildfire fund, which was created in 2019 to help wildfire disaster victims.
Cap-and-invest: Reauthorized the state cap-and-invest program including restoring the authority of state agencies to determine how many allowances oil and gas receive starting in 2031, and revamping the “Climate Credit” which uses cap-and-trade revenue to reimburse customers on their electricity bills during the hottest months of the year.
Utility accountability* : Prohibited utility companies from spending ratepayers’ money on political lobbying and promotional advertising.
Local electrification* : Set requirements for cities and counties with more than 75,000 people to plan for electrification, including installing electric vehicle charging stations and electric appliances.
*Legislation passed the state legislature but is awaiting Governor Newsom’s signature.
Clean transportation: Enacted two policies to tackle the biggest source of climate pollution—transportation—by increasing clean transportation options that reduce traffic, and improve transit access and reliability.
Energy efficient buildings: Updated building energy performance standards, established penalties for noncompliance, and created a building decarbonization enterprise to support building owners with financial and technical assistance.
Electricity transmission: Made it easier to install power lines along Colorado’s highways which will help deliver renewable power across the state while mitigating impacts on communities and wildlife.
Clean energy advancement: Launched its Energy Savings Navigator that provides Colorado residents an easy-to-use tool to identify more than 500 energy rebates.
Net-zero by 2050: Enacted an omnibus climate law that strengthened emissions reductions goals and set a new net-zero by 2050 target economy-wide. The law also created a new “Clean Economy Council” to develop strategies to help meet state emissions reduction goals, and offers a variety of incentives and programs promoting solar, energy-efficiency, heat pumps, and green jobs.
Electricity grid modernization: Enacted comprehensive energy affordability legislation with policies to cut energy costs for ratepayers and improve the electrical grid.
Climate resiliency: Established proactive measures to address climate change impacts and promote nature-based solutions including helping municipalities prepare for sea level rise and natural disasters.
Climate-responsible development: Adopted a new State Plan of Conservation and Development that prioritizes climate change in decision making around development over the next 5 years.
Climate Displacement Task Force: Created a Climate Displacement Task Force, a landmark step toward preparing for the human impacts of climate change. Environmental justice and community voices were prioritized in the legislation, with representation from immigrant rights groups, labor, housing advocates, and environmental justice organizations built into the task force.
100% clean energy by 2040: Accelerated the timeline by which the state must achieve 100% clean energy by 10 years from 2050 to 2040.
New state energy department: Established the Department of Energy Resources, turning the governor’s Energy Office into a permanent cabinet-level department. The new office has energy procurement authority that will lead to more regular opportunities to bring clean energy online.
Climate plan implementation: Codified a mandate for the Maine Office of the Public Advocate to implement the state’s climate plan.
Climate resiliency: Enacted storm preparedness and climate resiliency legislation that established a new state Resilience Office, launched a flood-risk preparedness program, utilizes federal funding for the state disaster recovery fund, and created a grant program to help homeowners make upgrades to protect their property against storm damage.
Utility accountability and ratepayer protections: The state set new requirements for utilities to prioritize ratepayer benefit and safety when making decisions regarding gas infrastructure replacement and repair. The legislature also prohibited utility companies from using ratepayer funds for business-related expenses. Finally, they directed electric utilities to submit an annual report disclosing their votes at the regional electricity transmission organization.
Clean energy advancement: Created a procurement process for battery storage projects and promoted solar development with a balanced approach to siting and land use. Also, removed waste-to-energy as an eligible source for state renewable energy credits.
Nation leading protections against data center rate hikes: Prohibited utilities from passing on the cost of meeting data centers’ energy demand to customers or from using data centers as an excuse to avoid reaching the state’s 100% clean energy by 2040 statutory goal.
Utility accountability and ratepayer protections: Ordered utilities to fully refund overcharged customers after a state investigation found that NV Energy overcharged at least 80,000 customers by more than $17 million between 2017 and 2024. The law also directed regulators to examine a possible fuel cost sharing structure that would require utilities to shoulder some of the cost of volatile fuel prices rather than passing it all on to ratepayers.
Solar access expansion: Authorized shared solar installations on multifamily residential properties, expanding access to the cost savings of solar and removing outdated barriers to rooftop solar for apartment renters and owners.
Extreme heat protections: Set requirements for the state’s two most populated counties to include extreme heat mitigation strategies in their long-term development plans.
Investment in impacted communities: Invested $210 million in communities that have been disproportionately impacted by climate change, providing resources for renewable energy projects, energy efficiency upgrades, and other projects that reduce carbon pollution. This represents the most significant investment in climate action in state history.
Energy bill assistance: Authorized low-income rate programs for electric and gas utilities to reduce energy burden for vulnerable customers.
Electricity grid improvement: Allowed utilities to take advantage of technologies that increase capacity on existing electricity transmission lines, improving the electric grid and allowing for more clean energy to come online.
Clean energy advancement: Established a $20 million grant fund for solar and battery energy storage projects to power public buildings and infrastructure.
Data center impact study: Directed the state Board of Public Utilities to study the effects of data centers on energy prices.
Utility transparency: Ordered utilities to disclose their votes at the regional electricity transmission organization to the state Board of Public Utilities, strengthening public accountability around energy rates and decisions.
Community solar expansion: Expanded the state’s successful community solar program by authorizing an additional 3250 MW of community solar projects.
Battery energy storage deployment: Launched the Garden State Energy Storage Program to reach the state’s goal of developing 2,000 MW of grid-scale battery energy storage capacity by 2030 without raising electricity rates.
NYC congestion pricing: Launched a first-of-its-kind congestion pricing program in New York City that charges drivers $9 to enter the busiest parts of Manhattan during peak hours and generates revenue for public transit. In the program’s first four months, 8 million fewer people entered the toll area than during the same period last year, resulting in reduced bus delays, shorter travel times, increased foot traffic, and less noise and air pollution from vehicles.
Gas mandate repeal* : Removed a rule that required any customer within 100 feet of an existing gas line to be connected and forced ratepayers to foot the bill for new gas connections. The “100-foot rule” mandated gas infrastructure expansion and blocked comprehensive approaches to install safer, cleaner electric appliances and heating.
All-electric buildings: Adopted the nation’s first all-electric buildings standard that requires electric heating and appliances in most new buildings by 2029 or sooner depending on the building type.
*Legislation passed the state legislature but is awaiting signature from Governor Hochul.
Historic bipartisan energy reform: Enacted a comprehensive energy law that promotes electrical grid optimization technologies, improves utility transparency, sets the first reliability standards for Ohio utilities, creates a framework to identify and prioritize brownfields and former coal sites for renewable energy development, and establishes a fund for solar and energy efficiency upgrades for schools. Notably, the legislation also ended coal bailouts that were enacted as part of the largest bribery scheme in state history and have charged Ohioans $90 million annually since 2019.
Solar project approval: Approved two major solar projects, Eastern Cottontail Solar (220 MW) and Frasier Solar (120 MW), in spite of concentrated misinformation efforts and fossil fuel-funded opposition.
Protections against data center rate hikes: Enacted the Protecting Oregonians With Energy Responsibility (POWER) Act to create a separate electric rate pricing system for large energy users such as data centers and cryptocurrency operations to protect ratepayers from rising bills.
Ratepayer protections: Ordered utilities to report annually on upcoming rate increases and what they will be for, and analyze the impact of increases on their customers under the Fairness & Affordability in Residential Energy (FAIR) Act.
Climate-informed investing: Set new requirements for analyzing and reducing the risks of climate change on the public employees retirement fund, and prioritizing investments that reduce climate emissions.
Electricity grid improvement: Directed utilities to adopt grid-enhancing technologies to increase the efficiency, reliability, and capacity of existing electricity transmission lines and help save customers money.
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