December 22, 2025 | SWEEP Staff
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From federal funding cuts to policy rollbacks, it’s without a doubt been a very challenging year for energy efficiency advocates. But despite it all, we continued to make progress at the state and local levels across the Southwest. After all, energy efficiency is still the cheapest, cleanest, fastest form of energy and a key solution for addressing the dual challenges of energy affordability and climate change. In the spirit of gratitude, Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) staff want to close out 2025 with some good news, by taking a moment to highlight a dozen of our most impactful wins of the year.
1. Rapid electric vehicle (EV) deployment in the Southwest: 2025 was a banner year for transportation electrification in the Southwest. Through September, EVs accounted for more than 14% of the light-duty vehicle market in the Southwest — significantly outpacing the national market, which reached 10.5%. Colorado led the nation in the third quarter — one out of every three passenger vehicles sold was electric. And Nevada ranked fifth in the country in the medium-duty vehicle market, with an electric model accounting for almost one in every six new vehicles. This success is built on a foundation of dozens of SWEEP-supported policies, from utility charging infrastructure investments to vehicle efficiency standards.
2. Transitioning from methane gas to clean electricity: SWEEP has been deeply engaged in advancing the gas transition in Colorado. One of our biggest wins of the year was our work to help set a robust “Clean Heat” target requiring gas utilities to achieve a 41% reduction in emissions by 2035 (compared to a 2015 baseline) through investment in efforts like efficiency and electrification. SWEEP also intervened in Xcel’s Mountain Energy Project proceeding, ultimately negotiating a settlement that included $48.7 million for non-pipeline alternative (NPA) projects, believed to be the largest ever proposed NPA in the United States. The NPAs will support residents and customers in Grand, Lake, Eagle, and Summit counties while avoiding the need for a costly expansion of gas infrastructure through the mountains. Finally, as follow-up to legislation we helped pass in 2021, SWEEP is supporting the efforts of the five localities selected as Gas Planning Pilot Communities — Boulder, Breckenridge, Denver, Golden, and Winter Park — as they develop neighborhood-scale gas pruning projects that forego the need for unnecessary and expensive investments in new gas pipelines.
3. Low-income utility rates: While climbing utility bills are a concern for everyone, they are particularly hard on less-resourced families. With advocacy from SWEEP and our partners, New Mexico enacted House Bill 91, the Public Utility Rate Structures Act, an equity-focused step to address energy affordability for households most burdened by utility bills. The law removed a long-standing hurdle by giving the Public Regulation Commission clear authority to consider low-income rate proposals from investor-owned utilities, creating a clear path for targeted, data-driven bill relief.
4. Energy affordability in Nevada: SWEEP also responded to skyrocketing energy costs in Nevada by helping secure several major energy affordability and equity wins, including Assembly Bill 452, which strengthened fuel-cost oversight and ensured customers receive full refunds with interest when utilities overcharge. We successfully advocated for new funding for the Nevada Clean Energy Fund (the state’s green bank), supporting long-term investment in clean energy and energy efficiency. Additionally, Nevada adopted new utility disconnection reporting requirements, increasing transparency and helping advocates identify and protect the most vulnerable households.
5. New climate analysis: SWEEP and our partners contracted with Sustainability Solutions Group to produce and release a comprehensive climate modeling analysis, Colorado’s Clean Affordable Climate Pathways. This study showed there are multiple low carbon pathways Colorado can follow to meet its statutory climate targets, all of which will produce significant net savings, as well as dramatically reducing local air pollution. These conclusions underscore the importance and multiple benefits of SWEEP’s work to advance energy efficiency and electrification in the building, transportation, industrial, and utility sectors.
6. Xcel distributed system planning: On December 15, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved Xcel Energy’s plan to invest more than $1 billion in electricity grid upgrades to support electric cars, trucks, homes, and appliances through the utility’s distribution system. The plan responded to legislative direction to modernize the grid in preparation to achieve Colorado’s statutory climate goals while preserving reliability and affordability. SWEEP successfully made the case to the PUC that timely access to clean electricity is essential to help Coloradans save money and reduce pollution. This decision advances investments that will be necessary to unlock the opportunity we identified in the Colorado Climate Analysis mentioned above, which found that meeting Colorado’s climate goals through efficiency and electrification will lower Coloradans’ energy bills and reduce the number of energy-burdened households.
7. Utah’s Beehive Emissions Reduction Plan: SWEEP staff in Utah supported the Utah Division of Air Quality’s development of the state’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Comprehensive Climate Action Plan, also known as the Beehive Emission Reduction Plan, released this fall. Our work included stakeholder engagement across sectors to inform impactful, practical strategies to reduce emissions from buildings, transportation, and industry. This collaboration helped ensure a plan that considered implementation-ready solutions aligned with emissions reduction goals.
8. Community benefits funding in New Mexico: Aided by SWEEP’s advocacy, the New Mexico legislature adopted the Community Benefit Fund (Senate Bill 48), a major step toward climate resilience and a more equitable clean energy transition, with $210 million dedicated to community-centered investments statewide. The package directed funding to grid modernization, workforce development and retraining, renewable energy and infrastructure projects, and energy efficiency upgrades. SB48 also included $15 million for the Community Energy Efficiency Development Block Grant Fund, adding new capacity to catalyze deep energy efficiency upgrades in low-income homes and community-scale retrofit projects.
9. Housing Forward Colorado campaign: In 2025, SWEEP launched the Housing Forward Colorado (HFC) campaign, a pro-housing and smart growth initiative focused on encouraging more affordable, efficient, and climate-friendly growth across Colorado communities. Aided by two new team members, a primary focus of HFC has been supporting the successful implementation of 2024-25 state land use laws to allow more efficient and affordable housing options and remove barriers to urban infill, such as excessive parking mandates and permitting processes. We are also working with cities across the Front Range to advance local pro-housing policies, such as a major win in October, when Lakewood became the first city in Colorado to legalize “middle housing” (smaller-scale homes like duplexes, triplexes, townhomes, etc.) citywide.
10. Efficient, EV-ready building codes in Phoenix: In Arizona, SWEEP’s Buildings team worked with City Council members, the Mayor, and staff to help secure the City of Phoenix’s adoption of the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code, along with additional measures on EV readiness. This action will ensure a base level of efficiency and EV capability for every new single family home built in Arizona’s largest city. According to the Department of Energy, the 2024 code provides on average a 6.6% energy cost savings over the 2021 version.
11. Local EV-readiness ordinances in Utah: Similarly, one state to the north, two Utah communities — Summit County and the City of Moab — adopted new EV readiness ordinances. These forward-thinking policies require new multifamily housing developments, such as apartments and condos, to include infrastructure that supports EV charging. This is a major win not just for EV adoption, but also for housing equity, cleaner air, and transportation choice across Utah.
12. New faces at SWEEP: Over the past year, SWEEP welcomed several new team members who will help continue and expand our impact in the Southwest. Will Greene, our new Arizona Representative, has been an advisor to the Arizona Corporation Commission and Governor Hobbs. Courtney Fieldman brings a decade of climate policy, PUC advocacy, and building electrification expertise to our Utility Program Director position. Robin Yochum, a long-time building codes and workforce development practitioner, added to the expertise of our Buildings Program team. Finally, two new staff are helping implement our housing initiative mentioned above: Max Nardo, a policy expert who staffed lawmakers at the Colorado state legislature, and Caroline Leland, who has valuable sustainable and equitable land use experience from prior federal agency and nonprofit work.
