Driving Market Transformation: RI Supports Clean Energy Leadership in California
- Written by Stacey Hobart
- January 29, 2025

California has taken a bold step toward advancing energy efficiency and decarbonization with the submission of its first Market Transformation Initiative (MTI) Plans to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for review and approval. These plans represent a significant step in the state’s efforts to decarbonize and deliver lasting energy efficiency benefits through market transformation approaches. As the Administrator of the CPUC’s market transformation program, CalMTA, Resource Innovations (RI) is proud to have played a key role in shaping these innovative strategies, leveraging our expertise to address market barriers and create equitable, impactful solutions.
Market transformation is a strategic process of intervening in a market to create lasting change by removing market barriers or exploiting opportunities and accelerating the adoption of identified technologies or practices. Market-level interventions can complement consumer-facing incentives or other statewide and local program efforts resulting in increased savings and benefits for California ratepayers.
These two MTIs—focused on Room Heat Pumps and Induction Cooking— are projected to deliver more than $1 billion in Total System Benefit (TSB) over their 20-year lifespan while aligning with California’s ambitious clean energy and equity goals. They are the result of 18 months of rigorous research, stakeholder engagement, and thoughtful program design.
A Look at the MTIs: Room Heat Pumps and Induction Cooking
Room Heat Pumps offer an important solution for heating and cooling, particularly for small single-family homes and multifamily units. Unlike traditional systems, these self-contained heat pumps are easy to self-install, and compatible with standard 120V outlets, eliminating the need for expensive panel upgrades or professional installation. In addition to supporting California’s goal of deploying 6 million heat pumps by 2030, this initiative seeks to enhance indoor air quality with air filtration and promotes lower-GWP refrigerants to further reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Induction Cooking technology provides an alternative to gas and electric resistance products that deliver a high-quality cooking experience, are safer because burners do not remain hot after cookware is removed and helps improve air quality in kitchens. This initiative is focused on accelerating the adoption of induction cooktops and ranges, providing healthier, safer, and climate-friendly kitchen appliances. By promoting innovative, affordable products such as battery-equipped 120V units, this MTI seeks to reduce financial and technical barriers such as purchase price and potential need for panel upgrades while empowering households to lower utility bills and reduce GHG emissions.
Advancing Equity and Innovation
At the heart of these MTIs is a commitment to equity. The initiatives have included specific market interventions that are designed to address systemic barriers to adoption, ensuring that all Californians, regardless of income or geography, benefit from clean energy advancements. With input from diverse stakeholders, including ESJ communities, market actors, and industry leaders, the plans incorporate culturally relevant strategies derived from research and testing including multilingual cooking demonstrations with community partners to gather real-world insights.
Resource Innovations’ Role in Driving Market Transformation
As a trusted partner in energy efficiency, Resource Innovations’ staff dedicated to this program as well as partnering firms have been instrumental in developing these MTIs. Over the past year, we led numerous activities to ensure their success, including:
Comprehensive Market Studies: Conducted interviews, surveys, and focus groups to identify key barriers and opportunities for advancing the adoption of room heat pumps and induction cooking technologies.
Technology and Product Assessments: Evaluated the performance, availability, and potential cost impacts of targeted solutions, ensuring their feasibility for diverse communities.
Innovative Strategy Pilots: In collaboration with partners across California, led practical trials, including self-installation tests for room heat pumps and multilingual “Chefluencer” cooking demonstrations to gather actionable findings that could be integrated into the MTI strategies.
Collaborative Stakeholder Engagement: Worked with equity-focused organizations, investor-owned utilities (IOUs), and community groups to develop solutions that address the unique needs of Environmental and Social Justice (ESJ) communities.
Looking Ahead
The proposed schedule anticipates a final CPUC decision on the MTIs later in 2025, with implementation partners selected through a Request for Proposals (RFP) process by early 2026. Beyond these two MTIs, additional ideas—including Commercial Rooftop Units, Commercial Replacement & Attachment Window Solutions, Residential Heat Pump Water Heating, and Foodservice Water Heating Systems—are under development, ensuring a pipeline of innovative solutions to support California’s clean energy future.
By addressing long-standing market barriers and promoting accessible, high-impact technologies, these MTIs represent a pivotal moment in California’s energy transformation. RI is honored to contribute to this critical work, ensuring that the path to decarbonization is equitable, sustainable, and impactful for all.