About Us

With increasing pressures from climate change, conflict, and myriad forms of racial, economic, and gender- and ability-based oppression, we believe authentic, mutual relationships grounded in trust and respect are a prerequisite for tackling the crises of our time. We use the word kinship, which points to Indigenous wisdom of our interdependence with both the living and the non-living across time.

Our vision is clear and unapologetic. EEP exists to support communities of color, lower-income, and frontline communities in securing their visions of energy equity and justice. Communities that have been most harmed by fossil fuels and investor-owned utilities and generally excluded from the benefits of the clean energy system should have the most prominent voice in shaping the energy future. We support organizations that are working toward visions of energy justice and energy democracy; our support is multi-year, flexible, and usually free. We engage multiple organizations in coalition, to build networks for learning and building power with each other as longterm allies.

Incremental approaches to advancing energy equity have generally yielded limited results. Though there are pockets of exemplary policies and models that we can lift up, critical issues like widespread shutoffs, pervasive unaffordability and energy insecurity, and exclusion of frontline communities from the benefits of clean energy persist. We honor organizations that push for incremental changes, like expanding eligibility and improving program enrollment practices. These are critical for households in crisis. The niche of EEP, however, is to identify the levers that lead to widespread changes and lasting energy equity.