The Biggest Winners and Losers of the 2026 Community Power Scorecard

Everyday people can lower their electric bills by choosing, generating, and sharing their own energy — but state leaders must enact strong policies to enable them to do so without interference from monopoly utilities.

The 2026 Community Power Scorecard surveys 20 key state-level policies that determine who — utility shareholders or ratepayers — sees the most benefit from the clean energy transition. The Scorecard includes policies passed between January 1, 2025 and August 31, 2026.

Since the release of our 2025 Community Power Scorecard, ten states have made policy changes that improved energy affordability, agency, and accountability for their residents — while three states also made negative policy changes.

Most Improved: California

California passed four different community power policies — more than any other state.

Two of the new policies aimed to protect consumers from being forced to bankroll improper utility spending. AB 1167 prohibits utilities from charging customers for lobbying costs, campaign contributions, and other expenses. The law also partially protects customers from paying for utility trade association activities that contradict consumer interests. Full protection would have prohibited utilities from paying any dues to trade associations that engage in any political influence activities.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved a pilot to bring energy efficiency upgrades and rooftop solar to single- and multi-family housing with no upfront costs and no credit checks. Further cementing this policy in legislation, rather than just regulation, would have earned the state full marks.

California also (marginally) improved its community solar policy. The CPUC approved a revised community renewable energy program that requires that 51% of subscribers be low- or moderate-income households, and guarantees these subscribers savings. However, the new program unfairly underpays community solar developers. Overall, the state’s community solar policies remain weak.

Runners Up: Delaware and New Jersey

Delaware strengthened three utility accountability policies with SB 60. The state joined California and others in passing new lobbying cost recovery and trade association dues cost recovery prevention policies. Delaware also moved to keep charitable contribution costs — which utilities often use to boost their public image — off of consumers’ electric bills.

New Jersey made three policy changes to give more people access to local clean energy that lowers their electric bills. The state improved its interconnection policies to help get energy projects like rooftop solar connected to the grid more quickly, but failed to implement all best practices in the area. New Jersey also improved its community solar policy by adding enough new community solar capacity to power 3,000 homes (3,000 MW), and increasing guaranteed savings for low- and moderate-income subscribers.

New Jersey also added a hosting capacity analysis requirement, which forces utilities to share information about available grid capacity. This transparency gives non-utility electricity producers more power by helping them choose the best locations for new energy projects.

Baby Steps Forward

Seven states improved only one community power policy. The changes they pursued centered on speeding up connecting new energy projects to the grid, insulating ratepayers from egregious utility spending, and empowering local communities to make their own energy use choices without state-level interference.

Ohio and Colorado each improved their approach to hosting capacity analysis. Colorado earned full marks this year for adding requirements for utilities to update their hosting capacity analysis data monthly. Although incomplete, Ohio passed its first-ever hosting capacity analysis requirement.

Oregon and Wisconsin both improved their interconnection policies. Alabama passed a robust lobbying cost recovery prohibition statute, and Maryland passed strong legislation protecting ratepayers from footing the bill for utilities’ trade association dues.

A Washington Superior Court judge ruled that a 2024 ballot measure passing a state-wide gas ban preemption was unconstitutional. Gas ban preemptions prevent communities from making their own decisions on building electrification by prohibiting cities from passing gas bans.

The Biggest Losers

While Illinois took first place on the 2025 and 2024 Community Power Scorecards, the state lost its crown this year — in part by eroding its net metering policy. Net metering determines how solar customers are paid for the energy their panels generate and how much money they save on their electric bills.

All energy that new Illinois solar customers send to the grid is now credited based on supply charges only, rather than the full retail rate. The energy that rooftop solar customers send to the grid saves money for all ratepayers, including those without solar. Cutting solar bill savings makes electricity more expensive for everyone as fewer people decide to go solar.

In a win for monopoly utilities, Arkansas legislators in March 2025 let utilities start charging customers for new power plants before the plants produce any electricity, putting ratepayers on the hook if projects run over budget or never get finished. Act 373 adds a revenue rider – a separate surcharge on utility bills – that allows the utility to charge customers more money outside of the approved rate structure.

Learn more about the 20 policies we evaluate, and how states are doing, through the Community Power Scorecard and interactive Community Power Map.