How do listening and learning move us toward more equitable solutions?
“The utility sector needs more empathy!” Those were the words of one participant during a recent virtual SEEA member meeting hosted by our energy efficiency policy (EEP) team. The group was discussing future innovation in utility energy efficiency programs in response to COVID-19 safety precautions. Since the onset of the pandemic, SEEA has been connecting […]
Announcing Pamela Fann, Director of Membership and Diversity Integration
I would like to share an important update regarding SEEA’s work on diversity, inclusion, and integration. For the past two years, Pamela Fann, director of SEEA’s membership program, has been developing a plan to implement our commitment to diversity and inclusion. Pam took on this task based on her assessment of SEEA’s needs and her […]
Shattering the stories we tell ourselves
As a white man who considers himself a Black Lives Matter ally, I find myself confronting hard truths this week. Too often my support has looked like, “But what can I do? What is the right action? What will be most helpful?” I used perfection as a defense against actually stepping forward. I offer a […]
SEEArth Day 2020
Last year, SEEA began a new tradition to honor our planet – SEEArth Day. We use this day to encourage more eco-friendly habits through some friendly competition and to share resources and ideas. Emme and Maggie organized the event, split the staff into teams, and created a sustainability scavenger hunt for the week leading up […]
Wacky Wednesday
Where are we? What is going on? Why is there a piece of bacon hitting a baseball? Today my son’s kindergarten class is hosting a virtual Wacky Wednesday. He decided to wear his Macon Bacon t-shirt because a piece of bacon playing baseball is pretty wacky. The Macon Bacon is part of the Coastal Plain […]
A Tale of Two Tariffs: Ouachita Electric Cooperative and Roanoke Electric Cooperative
We spoke with Mark Cayce of Ouachita Electric Cooperative and Marshall Cherry from Roanoke Electric Cooperative on how they have implemented tariffed on-bill programs, HELP PAYS and Upgrade to Save respectively. Both utilities use the Pay As You Save® (PAYS®) system and third-party administrators to support their programs. Tariffed On-Bill is a model where the […]
Powering the South with “White Coal”
In October of 1867 naturalist John Muir was in the middle of a thousand-mile walk through the South when he met a cotton planter, Mr. Cameron, on his farm outside of Augusta, Georgia. He predicted that “the time is coming, though we may not live to see it, when that mysterious power or force, used now only for telegraphy, will eventually supply the power for running railroad trains and steamships, for lighting, and, in a word, electricity will do all the work of the world.”
The Fall and Rise of Energy Conservation Codes
Energy conservation codes are making a comeback. Commercial and residential buildings are energy hogs that consume more than 40% of all energy produced in the United States. Almost a third of this is wasted. Since their inception in the 1970s, energy codes have stemmed these losses and reduced the footprint of America’s building stock. They […]
A Service Heart
Danny Kilpatrick’s childhood home in rural Mississippi was frequently warmed by “oven-heat.” He knows first-hand the fear and worry low-income households feel when their monthly utility bills are due. Danny serves a lot of customers in the Mississippi Delta, a region distressed by deep, systemic poverty. “The opportunities here are sparse or nonexistent. Many people can’t […]