Wiring the Divide: The Impact of Redlining on Electric Infrastructure

At Vote Solar, we understand the importance of a people-first perspective in driving a clean energy future. A key partner in this mission is our Access & Equity Advisory Committee (AEAC), a dynamic group of Black, Indigenous, and experts of color from across the country who are committed to advancing equitable clean energy policy. Each year, chosen AEAC members gather to identify the most pressing barriers to clean energy access for low-wealth, frontline, and BIPOC communities, providing critical recommendations for transforming our energy systems to be truly just and equitable. This year’s work focused on the ongoing impacts of redlining on electric infrastructure, leading to the development of our latest issue brief: “Wiring the Divide: The Impact of Redlining on Electric Infrastructure”

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This comprehensive brief provides key insights and foundational research on how the discriminatory practice of redlining has shaped energy access across the nation, perpetuating disparities in affordability, reliability, and infrastructure quality. Designed as a starting point for understanding these systemic injustices, the brief aims to empower advocates, policymakers, and community leaders to deepen their exploration of how race, class, and energy access intersect. However, this brief is only the beginning. Our understanding of redlining’s impact on electric infrastructure is still emerging, and deeper research and exploration are crucial to ensure our approach to addressing these disparities is community-centered and rooted in race and class consciousness.

What’s Inside the Issue Brief?

• A Historical Overview of Redlining: We delve into the origins and ongoing impacts of redlining, uncovering how discriminatory lending practices from the 1930s have created lasting barriers to energy services. Understanding this context is critical to recognizing the legacy of redlining that continues to drive inequities in energy access and infrastructure investment today.
• The Anatomy of Electric Infrastructure: Develop a clearer understanding of electric infrastructure and how their quality is evaluated. This section breaks down the key components—generation, transmission, distribution, and smart grid technologies—as metrics to assess inequities within electric infrastructure.
• Insights into Policy and Regulation: Discover the role utilities and Public Utility Commissions (PUCs) play in regulating and maintaining electric infrastructure. This section provides a roadmap for advocates to understand the regulatory landscape within this specific context.
• Case Studies: From California to the Midwest: Explore real-world examples of how redlining has perpetuated energy inequities across different regions. The brief features case studies on California’s metro areas and Midwest power outage disparities, offering valuable lessons on how these challenges affect historically redlined communities.
• Actionable Policy Recommendations: Identify targeted policies to expand research and deepen our understanding of the impacts of redlining on electric infrastructure, while providing relief to affected communities. This includes enhancing data transparency, fostering community-led research, establishing standardized metrics to assess redlining’s effects on infrastructure, and advancing reparative policies that channel investments into historically redlined areas.
• Power Up Your Advocacy: This issue brief is more than a resource—it’s a call to energize your advocacy. Achieving true energy justice requires collective effort and action from communities, advocates, and policymakers alike. If you’re ready to amplify your voice, uplift those around you, or stand in solidarity with communities affected by redlining, this brief provides a sample letter to advocate for expanded research and data collection on the ongoing impacts of redlining on energy infrastructure, as well as transparency and accountability from utilities and Public Utility Commissions.

Every step toward understanding redlining’s impact on our energy systems is a step toward a true people-powered energy future. By exploring this guide, you join a movement to challenge the legacy of injustice and build an energy system where every community can thrive. Dive into “Wiring the Divide” to power up your advocacy and drive the change our communities deserve.