As 2025 draws to a close, we’re reflecting on a year that marked significant strides in California’s market transformation journey. From launching new initiatives to deepening collaborative relationships across the state, CalMTA’s work unlocked innovative pathways to achieve a more efficient energy future for all Californians. A detailed account of these milestones can be found in the quarterly reporting webinars CalMTA delivers, which can be viewed on demand. Read on for some highlights. 

1st quarter

The year began with excitement. After filing an application to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in late December to authorize deployment of CalMTA’s first market transformation initiatives (MTIs), our team dove into moving additional market transformation (MT) ideas forward, deepening engagement with interested parties in the markets we’re working in, and introducing new tools and processes to improve our organization. Notable highlights: 

• Publishing CalMTA’s first KPI scorecard, a new resource that offers transparency and accountability into our operational performance and across our MTI portfolio  

• Convening a newly formed Equity Sounding Board for the first of four meetings in 2025. This group helps us apply an equity lens throughout MTI development and guides outreach to ESJ communities.  

• Beginning development of an Advancement Plan for the newest MT idea in our portfolio: the Commercial Building Efficiency Accelerator idea, which seeks to embed energy and emissions planning in building management practices.  

• Launching the National Room Heat Pump Collaborative in partnership with other energy organizations, leveraging investments across the nation to accelerate adoption of these efficient heating and cooling products 

• Kicking off a residential window stock assessment designed to validate the need for new room heat pump form factors in California 

• Contributing to a field study that gathered data on the real-world performance of and impacts on consumer cooking behavior for 120V battery-equipped induction ranges. 

2^nd quarter 

CalMTA’s second quarter efforts included launching new research projects and completing key milestones that supported our goals of raising stakeholder awareness and understanding of our work to deepen engagement and collaboration. Key outcomes included:   

• Sharing information about our progress through publication of the 2024 Annual Report and kicking off quarterly activity report webinar events. And in May, CalMTA unveiled a redesigned website, offering more streamlined access to our growing body of research and reporting. 

• Publishing reports summarizing the findings of CalMTA’s Room Heat Pumps Self-Installation Practices and Induction Cooking Chefluencer Event Testing Strategy Pilots  

• Launching an always-open Request for Ideas portal, a mechanism for interested parties to share their recommendations for energy-efficient products and practices to be considered for MT development on an ongoing basis 

• Expanding research activities across CalMTA’s portfolio: 

• Load-based testing of room heat pumps sought to validate real-world performance and inform the MTI’s energy modeling and bill impacts analysis 

• Began leveraging testing at PG&E’s Applied Technology Services lab to better understand the load-shifting potential and other impacts of heat pump water heater retrofits for the Foodservice Water Heating Systems MTI. 

3rd quarter

Momentum continued in the 3^rd quarter as CalMTA continued developing additional ideas for California’s market transformation portfolio, using research to inform strategic opportunities to accelerate market adoption of targeted technologies and practices. Key activities included:  

• Releasing the Commercial Building Efficiency Accelerator Advancement Plan and beginning the research needed to determine the viability of and format for a potential initiative 

• Kicking off the Idea to Initiative education series to help stakeholders better understand and provide feedback on key components of the full Commercial Rooftop Units (CRTUs) MTI Plan 

• Introducing a new Solicitations Portal, timed with release of CalMTA’s first-ever Request for Proposals (RFP), which invited proposals to conduct an organizational review of CalMTA’s first three years of operations 

• Commencing a field study for the Commercial Replacement and Attachment Window Solutions (CRAWS) MTI. Installing these window products at a public elementary school in an ESJ community (Madera, CA) provides CalMTA with important insight into energy impacts and non-energy benefits of the technology.   

• Teaming up with the Building Decarbonization Coalition to coordinate a Chefluencer demonstration at the United Stores/Nationwide Market Group Let’s Connect Buyer’s Event, showcasing induction cooking to national retailers 

• Convening nearly 40 industry leaders for the Residential Heat Pump Water Heater Market Acceleration Summit for two days of interactive workshops designed to identify pathways to make HPWHs the preferred choice for California homes 

• Continued active participation in the CPUC proceeding around CalMTA’s Application, including developing our opening briefs and addressing other parties’ responses – including supportive parties like the Bay Area Regional Energy Network (BayREN) and Tri-County Regional Energy Network (3C-REN), the California Efficiency + Demand Management Council (CEDMC), the California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA), TURN, and the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), for whom we are deeply grateful.  

4^th quarter 

Market transformation in California reached a new milestone during the last quarter of 2025. On Nov. 20, the CPUC unanimously voted to approve the application submitted by CalMTA in Dec. 2024 – authorizing the Room Heat Pumps MTI and conditionally approving the Induction Cooking MTI for market deployment. Other key outcomes from this quarter:  

• Issuing an RFP seeking proposals from qualified contractors to implement the Room Heat Pumps MTI, which targets market actors along the supply chain to ensure that room heat pump products are available, affordable, and compatible with California’s dominant window configurations 

• Concluding a field study launched in 2024, which explored the savings potential of heat pump RTUs with integrated sensors and remote monitoring systems. Study results informed the product assessment portion of CalMTA’s draft CRTU MTI Plan, which was published for stakeholder review in November.  

• Concluding a year of engagement with the final Equity Sounding Board meeting and last of six Market Transformation Advisory Board meetings of 2025, as well  representation at the Behavior, Energy & Climate Change (BECC) conference and California Efficiency + Demand Management Council Fall Conference – just two of 25 conferences and events CalMTA attended this year to share insights and research updates with industry leaders nationwide. 

Looking back, 2025 was a year of progress, partnership, and purpose. We laid the groundwork for transformative change and in 2026, we’ll take a bold step forward into market deployment – carrying our commitment to innovation, collaboration, transparency, and credibility with us as we support California’s path toward an equitable clean energy future.