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Module: Energy Bills (Weatherization + Shutoff Prevention)

Purpose: reduce the monthly squeeze by lowering energy bills and preventing crisis shutoffs.

This module is designed to be runnable by normal people in small weekly sprints.

What is happening (1-2 sentences)

High energy bills hit households every month, and poor building conditions make the pain worse.

When shutoffs or arrears pile up, the damage spills into health, housing stability, and job stability.

Why it is happening (mechanism, plain language)

The energy-bill squeeze usually lives in one of three places:

A) slow weatherization throughput
B) confusing intake and assistance rules
C) utility and regulator rules around shutoffs, arrears, and payment plans

If you do not separate utility policy from regulator policy from program operations, the ask gets muddy fast.

Who controls what

• utility policy: outreach, customer communication, payment-plan design
• regulator rules: shutoff protections, moratorium triggers, filing requirements
• program operators: intake, audits, contractor flow, completion speed

What good looks like (principle)

A healthier energy-assistance system has:

• more weatherization throughput
• clear, simple access to help
• fewer shutoffs
• transparent metrics by neighborhood without stigma
• contractor capacity that keeps work moving

Default plays (recommended)

Default Play A: End-to-end wait-time dashboard

Run this when people know help exists but the process takes too long.

One Ask (template): Publish monthly wait times from intake to audit to completion, and cut average end-to-end wait time by 30% within 6 months.

Minimum components:

• intake-to-audit timing
• audit-to-completion timing
• number of households in queue
• named owner for throughput

Why it wins: It turns a vague “weatherization is slow” complaint into a measurable operations ask.

Default Play B: Contractor bottleneck fix

Run this when the real drag is not forms but insufficient contractor capacity or slow reimbursement.

One Ask (template): Add contractor capacity support through faster reimbursement, standard scopes, and bundled upgrade scheduling, then report completions monthly.

Minimum components:

• reimbursement timing
• standard scopes where possible
• bundled upgrades
• completions reporting

Why it wins: It addresses the boring bottleneck that often decides whether the program can scale.

Definition of Done (every module sprint)

At the end of any Energy sprint, you should have:

1. One ask
2. One target map
3. One 1-page ask memo (250-400 words)
4. One 90-second testimony script
5. One scoreboard stub (3-5 metrics + data source)
6. One follow-up date
7. One public-record step if ignored

Target map (who can say yes)

Local and program targets

• community action agency or weatherization program lead
• county or city energy-assistance administrator
• public-health or housing lead where bill burden is tied to housing quality

Utility and regulator targets

• utility customer-affairs lead
• state public utilities commission or regulator
• attorney general consumer-protection or utility advocacy office where relevant

Implementation partners

• contractors
• community navigators
• building owners and landlords where upgrades depend on access

Receipts stubs (what to gather before you argue)

You only need a few items to build shared reality.

Throughput:

• wait times from intake to audit to completion
• households in queue
• completion counts by month

Shutoff prevention:

• shutoff rates
• arrears totals or trend
• payment-plan rules and moratorium triggers

Contractor bottleneck:

• contractor count
• reimbursement timing
• common scope or inspection delays

Escalation ladder (what to do when ignored)

Level 1 - direct ask

• email program owner + elected sponsor with one-page memo

Level 2 - office hours

• ask who owns wait-time reporting, contractor capacity, or shutoff-rule implementation

Level 3 - public record

• testimony or written comment at utility, regulator, or budget hearing

Level 4 - accountability move

• ask for program workflow data, filing data, or regulator complaint data

Level 5 - budget or rule change

• add throughput reporting, contractor support funding, or shutoff-protection rule changes

Scoreboard (choose 3-5 metrics)

Pick a small set that matches your play.

If running Play A (wait-time dashboard)

• intake-to-audit days
• audit-to-completion days
• households in queue
• completions per month
• no-show or dropout rate if relevant

If running Play B (contractor bottleneck fix)

• active contractor count
• reimbursement time
• bundled-upgrade completion count
• average bill reduction after upgrade
• completion rate by month

If working shutoff prevention

• shutoff rate
• arrears trend
• payment-plan uptake
• outreach-before-shutoff rate

60-minute Energy Sprint (minimum viable)

If you only have an hour:

1. 10 min: pick throughput, shutoff prevention, or contractor bottleneck
2. 10 min: build your target map
3. 20 min: write the one-page ask memo + scoreboard stub
4. 10 min: send two emails
5. 10 min: schedule follow-up + log

Done. Repeat next week.

One Ask examples (ready to use)

• “Publish monthly weatherization wait times end to end and cut average wait time by 30% within 6 months.”
• “Standardize payment plans and publish shutoff rates monthly in aggregated form.”
• “Add contractor-capacity support through faster reimbursement and report completions monthly.”
• “Create a one-stop intake coordinator and track time to completion end to end.”

Bridge language (calm, non-tribal)

• “Lower bills is dignity. It is also stability.”
• “This is a throughput problem: forms, staff, contractors.”
• “Let us measure completions and wait times like we mean it.”
• “Preventing shutoffs prevents bigger costs later.”

Weekly cadence (how to keep it small and real)

• Week 1: pick the bottleneck + send the ask
• Week 2: office hours or staff follow-up
• Week 3: public record step
• Week 4: follow-up for inclusion and reporting

Then repeat or pivot based on what moved.

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