Mono and Inyo counties in the Eastern Sierra are far from the classic image of what people think of when they think of California -- and extremes are displayed everywhere.  They include the highest mountain and the lowest point in the continental United States. Their mountains average more than 30 feet of annual snowfall and their deserts are arid. The hottest temperature in the world, 130 degrees, was recorded in Death Valley in 2020 and Mono County’s Bodie State Park has registered -29 degrees. There are mega mansions and private jets in the resort area, yet a community in Inyo County has a median income of $12,000. Those large homes may be close to Net Zero, or they may consume immense amounts of energy when they are unoccupied for long stretches of time. Some residents in older, poorly insulated multi-family units spend a large and disproportionate amount of their income on electricity and propane. The two counties combined cover 13,222 square miles, yet the full-time population wouldn’t fill half of an NFL stadium. And, in Mono County, there are almost as many dwellings as there are accounted for population based on census, meaning the true potential for energy efficiency isn’t properly acknowledged. Some sections of the counties receive their news from, and do their shopping in nearby Nevada towns. This is not quintessential California and energy efficiency education, outreach and programs can’t be delivered in a typical fashion.

Energy efficiency is an integral part of meeting the State’s aggressive goals to combat climate change.  Every individual has a role to play in reducing energy consumption and adapting to using less energy when demand is high and renewables generating less energy. Statewide ratepayer funded programs work to address these needs, but in the past, program administrators and cost-effectiveness calculations haven’t equitably served rural and hard-to-reach customers and a one-size-fits-all approach simply doesn’t work. Energy utility outreach and contractors rarely focus on these customers, prohibiting them from equally participating in and benefiting from established programs. These geographically isolated areas have less access to information, than their more urban counterparts, yet they need this information more. According to a 2018 report by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, the energy burden, meaning the percentage of gross household income spent on energy costs, is higher in rural areas due to larger living spaces, older building stock, lower incomes and vast temperature fluctuation. Program administrators also don’t have insight into the patterns of the community with regard to weather and business cycles – meaning you can’t come to the region to do retrofits when businesses are swamped with tourists or there’s a pending blizzard.

Contractors in the region find it difficult to hire skilled staff and when they do find qualified candidates, finding affordable housing is the next challenge. A local workforce education and training program to develop a trained workforce could benefit the community and provide community members with much needed skillsets to address future needs for our local community, and beyond, as we look at how important energy efficiency and renewables’ deployment will be to meeting our State and Nations’ climate goals.

The formation of a rural regional energy network (RuralREN) will allow local entities, who know their communities and the unique characteristic and obstacles such as: climate zones, language and income, to design and implement programs that meet the distinctive needs of local ratepayers. They can engage their diverse communities in a way that is effective based on their past experiences and insights. The best of intention by legislators and commissioners at the California Public Utilities Commission and the California Energy Commission sometimes seems to diminished by the time it gets to the implementation phase. Regional energy networks were developed to address this gap and this localized approach will garner more equitable and meaningful outcomes for our rural and hard-to-reach communities – and they deserve that.

Pam Bold
Executive Director
High Sierra Energy Foundation