Jean Gay-Robinson said she “cried tears of joy” when utility comed switched all the polluting gas-fired equipment in her Chicago home to modern electric versions, at no cost to her. As a retiree on a fixed income, she is relieved that she’ll likely never have to buy another appliance, her energy bills are lower, and her home feels safer. “I don’t have to worry about gas blowing up or carbon monoxide, that kind of nonsense,” she said.
Gay-Robinson is among the hundreds of people who have benefited from a provision of Illinois’ 2021 clean-energy law that allows electric utilities to meet energy-conservation mandates in part by outfitting low-income households with electric appliances that reduce their bills – even though such overhauls actually increase, rather than decrease, electricity use.
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Such policies are rare nationwide, but the approach could be a tool to help keep building decarbonization rolling as the Trump administration kills federal incentives for home electrification.
Modern electrical appliances – like induction stoves, electric dryers, and heat pumps that warm and cool spaces – are generally much more energy-efficient than their fossil-fueled counterparts. That means electrifying appliances cuts the amount of fossil fuels burned, even in places where gas and coal plants feed the power grid, said Nick Montoni, senior program director of policy and markets at the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center at North Carolina State University. As more renewable energy comes online, the emissions linked to electrical appliances decrease even further.
Plus, families breathe significantly cleaner indoor air when they change to an electric cooktop, due to the slew of health-harming pollutants# Electrification Programs Drive Energy Savings and Equity in Illinois and Michigan
Electric utilities are increasingly incentivizing a shift away from fossil fuels through electrification programs, particularly in states with both electric and gas utilities. Allowing utilities to count electrification towards their energy efficiency mandates is a key strategy, according to experts like Sarah Montoni of the Environmental Defense Fund.
when a utility provides both gas and electricity, electrification generally leads to overall energy savings. However, for electricity-only utilities, a formula is needed to demonstrate energy savings even as individual customer electricity use increases. Illinois provides a model for this approach.
In northern Illinois, ComEd operates as the primary electric utility alongside two major gas utilities. Through its whole-home energy-efficient electrification program, ComEd covers the full upfront cost of electric appliances and heat pumps for households earning at or below 80% of the area median income. Launched in 2022, this initiative has already electrified over 700 low-income households. ComEd also offers rebates to all customers for purchasing electric appliances, including geothermal heat pumps.
ComEd’s state-approved energy-efficiency plan requires that 25% of savings from electrification benefit low-income households. Moreover, the utility can only undertake electrification projects if they result in cost savings for customers – a similar requirement is also present in Michigan’s law.
“We carefully model each home to make sure proposed upgrades result in energy savings,” said Philip Roy, ComEd’s director of clean energy solutions. “Nationally, I’m pretty sure this is one of the more ambitious approaches to electrification, especially for income-eligible customers.”
For Chicago resident Brenda Gay-Robinson, the ComEd overhaul last summer has already yielded benefits. She’s seen savings on her energy bills and now has reliable appliances to withstand the city’s extreme weather.
She recommended the program to a friend struggling with heat and lacking air conditioning, believing the new electric heating-cooling system may have been life-saving. While she still prefers cooking with gas,Gay-Robinson appreciates the new cookware provided with her electric induction stove.
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