After 18 months, the vision for market transformation in California is coming into focus. Later this year, CalMTA, the State’s administrator for such efforts, will be requesting approval from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for two Market Transformation Initiatives (MTIs) to move to implementation. The CalMTA team believes these MTIs — Room Heat Pumps and Induction Cooking — have high potential to drive adoption of these products and deliver lasting, cost-effective energy efficiency.
How did we get to this point? Since the team was first formed in early 2023, CalMTA has been working to research, listen, and understand which technologies or practices to target for high impact solutions that further the State’s clean energy economy and climate goals. Work on the first two MTIs that are being readied for CPUC review and approval by the end of the year have made it through two of the three distinct phases of MTI development. Another four ideas are currently in Phase I and Phase II development. These phases were defined in collaboration with CalMTA’s Market Transformation Advisory Board (MTAB) and include stage gate review points to ensure the idea is a right fit for market transformation strategy.
In Phase I: Concept Development, CalMTA takes submissions from stakeholders, market actors and other interested parties to identify possible market transformation ideas. These are scored and prioritized based on set criteria. High-potential ideas advance to Phase II: Program Development, where CalMTA creates Advancement Plans that describe the research and investigation to further develop and assess the ideas’ viability and promise for cost-effective energy efficiency and decarbonization benefits.
With the first two MTIs poised to move to Phase III: Market Deployment, CalMTA could be seeking firms to implement these initiatives by late 2025. This step is pending CPUC approval of an Application proposing the two full MTI Plans.
To help interested parties understand the important aspects of these plans, CalMTA is launching a series of presentations and discussions with MTAB members and the public over the coming months. This Idea to Initiative educational campaign will cover key portions of both the Induction Cooking and Room Heat Pump MTI Plans. And while this outreach campaign will not include a formal feedback opportunity on the plans, there will be discussion and stakeholders can provide feedback on the MTI Plans during the Application process with the CPUC. See the timeline below of Idea to Initiative presentations.
Interested parties can join us by registering for these events, which will also be recorded for on demand viewing. Public comments on this process or on CalMTA’s work can be shared at these meetings or submitted anytime via our online form.
This Idea to Initiative roll-out will provide the necessary time to review the MTI Plans as they are developed and crucially before they are submitted. Our team is busy finalizing the drafts of the full MTI Plans, which are scheduled to be released in early November.
Stay tuned for more about our outreach this fall. CalMTA will be collaborating with stakeholders on the details of these plans and joining colleagues at key conferences and forums. Our intent is that this Idea to Initiative campaign will provide opportunities to fully inform interested parties about California’s first Market Transformation Intiative Plans. We look forward to connecting with you!
