Center for American Progress, December 15, 2015: (Op-Ed) The Clean Energy Incentive Program: Improving Energy Efficiency Programs for Low-Income Communities
“EPA’s extra incentives for energy efficiency, or EE, programs in low-income communities are particularly important for three reasons. Low-income communities pay a disproportionate burden of energy costs: In fiscal year 2014, low-income households spent an estimated mean of 16.3 percent of their household income on energy costs, compared with 3.5 percent for wealthier households. Low-income communities also disproportionately suffer from coal-fired power plant pollution and the ensuing effects of climate change. Furthermore, without expanding EE—and renewable energy—opportunities beyond upper- and middle-income households, the United States will fail to meet its 2025 carbon pollution reduction goals.”