SEEC is celebrating 11 years of success in bringing Energy Efficiency (EE) to the forefront of local government sustainability solutions. In total, we have assisted 156 cities and counties through participation in the Beacon Awards program, helped complete over 660 Greenhouse Gas inventories, hosted and participated in 11 SEEC Forums, and shared numerous best practices amongst local governments.

Due to the CPUC Decisions requiring the Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs) to outsource 60% of their customer programs (Decision 16-08-0192) to Third Party contractors, and the minimum cost- effectiveness thresholds for IOU program portfolios, the IOUs have undergone a portfolio balancing process that includes reducing budgets and sunsetting programs, which includes the IOUs’ partnership with SEEC. While 2020 will be the final year of SEEC, the NGO partners (ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, Institute for Local Government, and Local Government Commission) remain committed to continuing to support local governments in building capacity and sustaining progress towards energy efficiency and climate action goals.

Over the last 11 years, the IOUs have helped fund the development of a variety of tools for local governments, which are expected to remain available through the respective NGOs who have been instrumental partners in SEEC. EE programs will continue to be available, whether they are implemented by the IOUs or a Third Party contractor.

As SEEC sunsets, we hope you can take a moment to share about your experiences, as well as any local energy/climate action needs that we can support through other avenues. All IOU and NGO partners are committed to providing ongoing support to local governments beyond 2020.

SEEC Forum

The annual SEEC Forum has reached thousands of local government staff and energy efficiency practitioners over the past decade as is now in its 11th year. While this will be the final year that the SEEC Forum is held, Local Government Commission (LGC) remains committed to continuing to provide opportunities to local government staff and stakeholders to learn about new policies, emerging trends, and best practices.

We invite you to join us for the SEEC Virtual Forum this year, which will include learning and networking opportunities over the next 6 months. The Forum will launch on June 2nd with a webinar featuring a State Panel on Promising Solutions for a Clean Energy Future .

ClearPath

Since 2013, ICLEI has provided free access to ClearPath and ICLEI technical support for GHG emissions management and climate action planning through SEEC. As of January 1st, 2021, California local governments will no longer have access to the free ClearPath tool and ICLEI technical support.

Communities can continue to access technical support from ICLEI experts and actively manage GHG inventory and emissions strategies in ClearPath through ICLEI membership or regional affiliation (where regional affiliates contract with ICLEI to provide a customized scope of services to cities and or counties within the region). Cities and counties unable to join ICLEI or participate in a regional program will have the ability to download archived ClearPath records and maintain read-only access, but will lose the ability to manipulate data or add new records.

Beacon Awards

Since 2010, the Institute for Local Government's Beacon Awards Program has supported cities and counties across California who have committed to taking voluntary steps towards addressing climate impacts and sharing information and best practices with peers.

Now with over 156 participating agencies, ILG remains committed to supporting and recognizing Beacon communities. The Beacon Program will refresh in 2021 with an updated Sustainability Best Practices Framework and interactive website, reimagined award categories, and new opportunities for engagement. ILG looks forward to the next 10 years of Beacon and beyond!

Best Practices and Technical Assistance

While the Statewide Local Government Energy Efficiency Best Practices Coordinator itself will end after 2020, LGC, ICLEI, ILG, and IOUs will continue to provide in-depth technical assistance to local agencies through their ongoing programs.

We hope that you can take a moment to share about your experiences and climate/energy needs in this brief survey for local governments:

The Statewide Energy Efficiency Collaborative (SEEC) is an alliance to help cities and counties reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save energy. SEEC is a collaboration between three statewide non-profit organizations - the Local Government Commission , Institute for Local Government , and ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability - and California's four Investor Owned Utilities. This program is funded by California utility customers and administered by Southern California Gas Company , San Diego Gas & Electric Company , Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Southern California Edison , under the auspices of the California Public Utilities Commission .