Nonprofit asks $60,000 for study into on‑bill repayment and energy efficiency financing

Josh Craft, director of government relations at Utah Clean Energy, asked the subcommittee for $60,000 to fund an analysis of how an on‑bill repayment program might work in Utah. He said the study would bring together utilities, regulators and stakeholders to evaluate models that let customers finance energy efficiency upgrades through their utility bills and pay down the cost over time.

Craft noted existing energy efficiency programs yield lifetime savings for customers but are often constrained by upfront capital barriers; an on‑bill repayment mechanism, he said, could bridge that gap. Steve Waldrop and legislative sponsors framed the request as a prudent one‑year investment to identify consumer protections, billing mechanisms and software requirements and to return recommendations for pilot implementation.

Committee members did not vote on the study; presenters said the study is intended to inform later policy and implementation steps and to avoid poorly designed mandates that shift costs without delivering savings.