Community Power Map

The Community Power Map is updated annually with the most recent scores from ILSR’s 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. State legislators and regulators create the rules that can give communities greater control over clean energy and protect ratepayers from inflated costs and other abuses of utility monopoly power.

Glossary

• Community Power Score: a comprehensive evaluation of how the following policies help or hinder local clean energy action. ILSR’s Community Power Scorecard methodology page describes how the individual policies are weighted and scored, and explains each of the policies.
• Net Metering: Determines how solar customers are paid for the energy their panels generate and how much money they save on their electric bills. Learn more.
• Third Party Ownership: Helps homeowners to avoid the upfront cost of going solar by allowing a rooftop solar installer to own the equipment and share the financial benefits through a lease or power purchase agreement. Learn more.
• Interconnection: Helps get energy projects like rooftop solar connected to the grid quickly by setting clear standards and timelines for utilities and installers to follow. Learn more.
• Hosting Capacity Analysis: Requires utilities to share information about available grid capacity. This information helps independent power producers choose the best locations for new energy projects. Learn more.
• Community Solar: Expands solar access by allowing customers to subscribe to a portion of a nearby solar project and save on their electric bills. Learn more.
• Community Choice Energy: Allows cities to choose their own energy sources on behalf of all residential and small commercial customers, rather than relying on their utility’s choices. Learn more.
• Franchise Authority: Allows cities to negotiate their own franchise contracts and fees with electric and gas utilities. Learn more.
• Solar Permitting: Lowers costs and barriers to installing rooftop solar by simplifying local permitting processes. Learn more.
• Virtual Power Plants and Distributed Energy Resource Aggregation: Pays the owners of solar panels, batteries, smart thermostats, and other distributed energy resources to help the grid at key moments. Learn more.
• Plug-In Solar: Allows consumers to use small solar panels that plug into a standard electrical outlet to save money on their electric bills. Learn more.
• Gas Ban Preemption: Prevents communities from making their own decisions on building electrification by prohibiting cities from passing gas bans. Learn more.
• Restructured Generation Market: Prohibits investor-owned distribution and transmission utilities from also owning generation assets, due to conflicts of interest. Learn more.
• Disallow Construction Work in Progress: Prevents utilities from charging customers for construction costs before a power plant is operational. Learn more.
• Inclusive Utility Investment: Helps customers make energy upgrades with no upfront costs. Also known as inclusive financing, tariff on-bill financing, or Pay As You Save®. Learn more.
• Disconnection Prevention: Protects customers from losing electricity service for nonpayment. Learn more.
• Intervenor Compensation: Helps consumer advocates and community groups participate in the state utility regulatory commission proceedings that determine electricity rates and other policies. Learn more.
• Disallow Lobbying Cost Recovery: Prohibits utilities from charging their customers for the company’s lobbying costs, campaign contributions, and other expenses. Learn more.
• Disallow Trade Association Dues Cost Recovery: Reduces the risk of utility customers paying for utility trade association activities that contradict consumer interests. Learn more.
• Disallow Charitable Contribution Cost Recovery: Prohibits utilities from charging their customers for contributions to nonprofits. Learn more.
• Right of First Refusal: Allows utilities to claim new regional transmission projects without having to compete against (sometimes cheaper) bids from independent companies. Learn more.

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