2025 Reflections: A message from our Director

As 2025 comes to a close, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude for the partnerships that make the Bay Area Regional Energy Network’s (BayREN) impact across the Bay Area possible. Approaching my three-year anniversary at BayREN, I am humbled and honored to lead our team into the next chapter.

Since joining BayREN, I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with colleagues who now lead some of our most innovative programs in the Bay Area, each advancing our mission to make buildings healthier, more efficient and more resilient.

This year, we launched the highly anticipated EASE Home Program, which provides weatherization and energy efficiency upgrades for homeowners and renters in single-family homes. Already, the program is delivering meaningful health and comfort improvements at an affordable cost for residents like Shekinah and Christopher from Oakland, who received a complete EASE Home upgrade at no cost through local partnerships.

Our commercial programs are also gaining momentum, expanding support to small businesses in communities that have historically lacked access to energy efficiency resources. Operating a business in the Bay Area is no small feat, and our offerings help reduce energy and operational costs for entrepreneurs like Niral, who is now saving more than $2,000 annually through BayREN participation.

This year also marked the launch of new programs and services for local public agencies, an effort long in the making. Offerings such as the Energy Concierge and the Decarbonization Showcase are helping build capacity and support public agencies in achieving their climate goals. Five sites across the Bay Area are currently participating in the Showcase and more sites are expected to enroll in 2026.

I am especially grateful for the thoughtful work behind Water Upgrades Save, a program that officially concluded this year. While it has ended, it strengthened our approach to program delivery and reinforced the importance of adapting when circumstances change.

Our longstanding successes, including the BAMBE Multifamily Program, continue to improve residential buildings across the region. Since its launch 12 years ago, more than 700 properties have participated, receiving over $45.5 million in rebates.

I firmly believe that regional collaboration is one of the most effective strategies for building impactful programs. The upcoming launch of Home Energy Score California, based on work originally done in our Green Labeling program, demonstrates how regional innovation can pave the way for broader implementation.

Since 2013, BayREN has partnered with the nine Bay Area counties — Sonoma, Solano, Napa, Marin, San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara — to deliver coordinated, regional-scale solutions. As one of California’s first Regional Energy Networks (RENs), we remain committed to creating programs that people value and that make a tangible difference in their daily lives.

Thank you for your continued support and best wishes for a happy holiday season. We look forward to continuing our work across the Bay Area with new and exciting offerings in 2026.

— Jane Elias
Director, BayREN