Current and Future Three- Year Energy Efficiency Results and Planning
September 22, 2026
At a workshop on the 2028-2030 Three-Year Energy Efficiency Plan for the Commercial & Industrial (C&I) sector on August 27, 2026, the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council (EEAC) discussed four key areas: general C&I improvements; electrification; equity in the C&I sector, and multifamily and mixed-use buildings.
For C&I sector improvements, EEAC consultants reported that most C&I core initiatives are performing well in the current 2025-2027 term, including multiple enhancements, and expanded technical assistance, engineering support, and customer resources. A new offering in this plan is existing building commissioning (EBCx) which is still ramping up. Opportunities for continued improvement and refinement in the 2028-2030 plan include continuing to shift from lighting-driven savings to more complex and customized projects that require better data and analytics, more targeted education, and better coordination across services.
For electrification, EEAC consultants reported robust electrification activity in the 2025-2027 term, with prescriptive electrification exceeding expectations. Customers have also utilized technical assistance that can support decision making, decarbonization studies, and planning services. Opportunities for continued improvement and refinement in the 2028-2030 plan include technical assistance for electrification planning over multiple years, collecting data on market conditions to understand what is needed to further spur adoption of electrification, and using customer inputs on anticipated impacts of electrification to predict and communicate project costs and benefits more accurately.
For equity in the C&I sector, EEAC consultants reported that microbusiness participation has improved over time and now comprises over 90% of C&I accounts, experiencing the highest depth of savings. However, there is still limited understanding of participation by geography and outcomes for renters and property owners. Opportunities for continued improvement and refinement in the 2028-2030 plan include tracking and reporting five-year cumulative location participation rates by zip code for microbusiness and small businesses, tracking and reporting the number of Small Business Turnkey projects that receive enhanced incentives, tracking and reporting account participation to understand if there is parity between rent and non-renter participation, and continuing the Embedded Evaluation of the Small Business Turnkey core initiative.
For multifamily and mixed-use buildings, EEAC consultants reported that multifamily (5+ dwelling units) represent 22% of housing units in the Commonwealth and 8% of total C&I energy consumption with a high concentration of renters (75%). These buildings are a significant portion of the Commonwealth’s housing stock and statewide energy consumption but have challenges with energy efficiency investment because of landlord/tenant split incentives, master meters, and a mix of commercial and residential-scale equipment/savings opportunities. Opportunities for continued improvement and refinement in the 2028-2030 plan include developing specific multifamily and mixed-use building evaluation studies to identify barriers to participation, key strategies for overcoming those barriers, and what a streamlined, dedicated offering would feature. Developing a specific offering for mixed-use buildings that consolidate residential and commercial incentives, along with exploring energy-aligned leases, triple-net leases, and other mechanisms to overcome the tenant-landlord split incentive, were also discussed.
See a more detailed summary of the EEAC consultants brief including the current state of the C&I sector and key focus areas for the 2028-2030 term here. Please reach out to Yve Torrie with any questions.
