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What is NASEO?
NASEO is the National Association of State Energy Officials, a U.S. membership organization that represents the officials who run state and territory energy offices. Its site at NASEO functions as a hub for those offices rather than a consumer energy service: it publishes policy tracking, benefit-cost analysis manuals, program templates, event listings and news affecting state-level energy decisions.
Who it is for
- State and territory energy office staff, who use it for peer coordination, federal program guidance and shared tools.
- Policymakers and legislative aides looking for state energy policy roundups and positions.
- Researchers, consultants and industry affiliates who follow how states implement energy programs.
- Local officials and school districts in narrower cases, such as the K-12 energy savings performance contracting material.
What you actually find there
- State Energy Offices directory, including a map for locating your state or territory office.
- Topic pages on advanced nuclear, critical minerals, geothermal heating and cooling, grid optimization and home energy rebates.
- Programs in a Box — packaged implementation guidance, for example on ESPC programs for K-12 schools.
- Publications such as the National Standard Practice Manual for benefit-cost analysis of distributed energy resources.
- Policy and news sections, including a State Energy Policy Roundup and a news archive.
- Events, from the annual meeting to working group calls and public office hours.
How it differs from adjacent organizations
| If you need | Better fit |
|---|---|
| State government energy policy and program implementation | NASEO |
| National legislative advocacy and industry-wide policy | A national trade association in the energy sector |
| Technical research and modeling | A national laboratory or academic center |
| Local air quality and sustainability programs | A city or county sustainability office |
A practical example: a school district facilities director weighing an energy savings performance contract can start with NASEO's K-12 ESPC program-in-a-box, then contact their state energy office through the site's directory to ask what rebates or technical assistance apply locally. That two-step route — national template, then state-specific rules — is the most reliable way to use the site.
How can I find my state or territory energy office through NASEO?
Use the interactive map in the “Find Your State or Territory Energy Office” section on the NASEO homepage. Selecting a state or territory opens the corresponding state or territorial energy office listing, which is the fastest route to the right agency.
What you can expect to find
- A directory entry for each U.S. state and territory, including the offices listed on the map (for example, AS, GU, MP, PR and VI).
- Contact details for the state energy office, which is typically the agency that administers energy programs and policies within that jurisdiction.
- A starting point for following state-level energy policy, programs and funding opportunities rather than federal ones.
Who this is useful for
- Residents and businesses looking for the agency that runs state energy programs, rebates or energy planning.
- Local officials, researchers and contractors who need the correct point of contact for a specific state or territory.
- Anyone tracking state energy policy who wants to move from national news to the responsible state office.
Practical next step
If your goal is a specific program, note the office name from the map, then check whether it sits under a state agency with a broader remit, such as energy, commerce or environmental protection. That distinction determines who actually administers the program you need. For national context alongside the state listing, U.S. Department of Energy publishes federal program information, while NASEO itself is the association of state and territorial energy officials.
What does NASEO's National Standard Practice Manual for Benefit-Cost Analysis of DERs cover and who should use it?
NASEO's National Standard Practice Manual for Benefit-Cost Analysis of Distributed Energy Resources (NSPM for DERs) is a methodology guide for deciding whether a utility or state program, rate design or portfolio of distributed energy resources delivers net benefits to society. Rather than a single mandated formula, it lays out a structured framework: identify the perspective of the test (utility, participant, society, or a combination), define which impacts count as benefits and costs, assign values to them, and compare results across resource options. It is best known for arguing that benefit-cost tests should be built around a jurisdiction's own policy goals, and for treating impacts such as health, environmental and resilience effects as first-class entries rather than afterthoughts.
What it covers
- Test selection and perspectives. How to choose among standard tests (for example, the Participant, Ratepayer Impact Measure, Utility/System, Total Resource and Societal cost tests) and what each one does and does not capture.
- Impact categories. A catalog of candidate benefits and costs, including energy and capacity value, avoided transmission and distribution investment, reliability and resilience, environmental and public health effects, and customer non-energy impacts.
- Methodology. Steps for screening impacts, avoiding double-counting, handling uncertainty and sensitivity analysis, and choosing discount rates and study horizons.
- Application to DERs. Adapting the framework to energy efficiency, demand response, distributed generation, storage and electric vehicles, where benefits accrue to different parties than in traditional supply-side planning.
- Process and governance. How regulators, utilities and stakeholders can agree on inputs, document assumptions and keep analyses comparable over time.
Who should use it
- Public utility commission staff and regulators, who need a defensible basis for approving or rejecting programs and cost-recovery requests.
- State energy office analysts, who often quantify program impacts for legislative reporting and statewide planning.
- Utility resource and regulatory planners, who run the tests and must justify assumptions in filings.
- Evaluators, consultants and academic researchers building or reviewing cost-benefit models.
- Advocacy organizations and consumer representatives who want to interrogate whether a test's structure quietly favors or penalizes certain resources.
How to choose your entry point
| If you are… | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New to benefit-cost testing | The overview of perspectives and tests | You need the vocabulary before debating inputs |
| Writing or reviewing a filing | The impact catalog and methodology chapters | You can map each claimed benefit to a defined category |
| Working on resilience or health impacts | The non-traditional impact sections | These are the hardest to quantify and the most often omitted |
| Comparing DER options | The DER application sections | They show how the same framework applies across technologies |
A useful first move is to pick one live decision in your jurisdiction — a proposed efficiency portfolio, a rooftop solar rate change, or a storage incentive — and run it through the framework's steps on paper. That quickly reveals which impacts your existing analysis already captures and which it silently drops, which is usually the most persuasive argument for adopting the manual's approach. NASEO publishes it alongside related resources such as its Programs in a Box series and the OpenBCA public office hours listed on its events calendar, and the U.S. Department of Energy's State Energy Program context is relevant for state offices weighing how these analyses feed into federal reporting.
How can my organization become a NASEO affiliate or member?
NASEO offers two distinct pathways: Affiliate membership for organizations, and engagement as a State Energy Office (the association's core public-sector membership). The right route depends on whether you represent a state/territory energy office or a company, nonprofit, university or consultancy.
Which route fits you
| If you are… | Likely pathway | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| A state or territory energy office | State Energy Office participation | Access to committees, policy roundups, the U.S. State Energy Program network and peer events |
| A company, law firm, consultancy, nonprofit or research group | NASEO Affiliate | A seat in the broader network, topic and committee involvement, and visibility alongside state officials |
| An individual professional | Ask before assuming | Individual options are not obvious from the site; confirm with staff |
Practical next step
Go to the NASEO site and open the "Become a NASEO Affiliate" link in the footer or main navigation. That page is the authoritative source for current eligibility, dues and the application process. For state energy office matters, the "State Energy Offices" section and the staff directory are the better starting points.
What you get out of it
NASEO's work is organized around committees and featured topics, including Advanced Nuclear, Critical Minerals, Home Energy Rebates, Regional Petroleum Response Collaboratives, geothermal working groups, a Grid Optimization Task Force and the U.S. State Energy Program. Affiliates and members plug into that agenda through publications, "Programs in a Box" toolkits and events such as the Annual Meeting and the Winter Energy Outlook.
A useful decision criterion: if your goal is policy influence and peer exchange with state officials, affiliate status is the entry point. If your goal is selling to or partnering with state energy offices, the same affiliation gives you context and contacts, but procurement happens through each state's own processes — NASEO itself is not a buyer.
Before you apply
- Confirm your organization type and whether affiliate categories differ by sector.
- Check the events calendar for a meeting where you can meet staff and members first.
- Have a clear one-paragraph statement of how your work connects to state energy priorities; it will help in conversations and any application.
- Compare the cost and reach against other national energy networks such as ACEEE or Southern Alliance for Clean Energy if your focus is research or regional advocacy rather than state-official networking.
What are NASEO's Programs in a Box and how can states use them?
NASEO's Programs in a Box are packaged resource kits that state energy offices can adapt to launch or improve a specific program, rather than building guidance, templates and process steps from scratch. The association's own site shows the format applied to concrete topics: it announced a new Program-in-a-Box focused on energy savings performance contracting (ESPC) programs for K-12 schools, alongside its wider Programs in a Box library.
What the format is for
A state energy office typically has policy goals but limited staff time for program design. A Program-in-a-Box compresses that front-end work into a reusable package: the rationale for the program, design choices, and practical materials a state can tailor to its own statutes, utilities and market. Because NASEO is a membership association of state and territory energy officials, the material is written for that audience rather than for individual consumers or private firms.
How a state might use one
- As a starting template. A state interested in ESPC for K-12 schools could use the box to sketch program scope, eligible measures and the roles of schools, energy service companies and the state office, then adjust for local procurement rules.
- As a comparison tool. Officials weighing two approaches can use the packaged design choices to see what other states have had to decide, instead of commissioning a fresh study.
- As an internal briefing. Staff can bring the package to leadership or legislators as a ready-made explanation of what the program would involve.
- As a complement to federal funding. Programs tied to federal support, such as home energy rebates, benefit from pre-built administrative frameworks that shorten setup time.
Trade-offs to weigh
A Program in a Box is a head start, not a finished program. It will not resolve state-specific questions such as which agency holds authority, how utilities are compensated, or how low-income participation is guaranteed. States with unusual market structures or strong existing programs may find more value in a few sections than in the whole package. Expect to spend real staff time on adaptation and stakeholder review.
A practical next step: identify the program area you are considering, check whether NASEO has a matching box, and read it alongside your state's own authorizing statute before committing to a design. For the wider policy context, the U.S. Department of Energy publishes related program guidance, and the NASEO site lists its current Programs in a Box and upcoming events where state officials discuss implementation.
What is the U.S. State Energy Program and how do state energy officials use it?
The U.S. State Energy Program (SEP) is a federal program, administered by the U.S. Department of Energy, that channels funding and technical support to the energy offices of states, territories and the District of Columbia. Rather than running projects from Washington, it works through those offices, which decide how to apply the money to their own priorities. You can see how the program fits into the wider network of state energy offices through NASEO, the National Association of State Energy Officials.
How state energy officials use it
State energy officials typically treat SEP funds as flexible seed capital for work that would otherwise go unfunded. Common uses include:
- Energy planning and policy analysis, such as statewide energy strategies, benefit-cost analysis of efficiency and distributed resources, and grid or resilience studies.
- Efficiency and weatherization-adjacent programs, including support for schools, public buildings and low-income households.
- Renewable and distributed energy deployment, from geothermal heating and cooling to solar on public sites.
- Emergency preparedness and petroleum response, helping states plan for fuel disruptions and extreme weather.
- Workforce development, funding training and credentialing so local contractors can deliver the programs.
- Data, tracking and reporting, since states must show results to keep federal funding flowing.
A practical example: a state energy office might use SEP money to pilot an energy savings performance contract (ESPC) program in K-12 schools, prove the model works, then hand it to school districts to run at scale. NASEO's "Program-in-a-Box" materials are designed for exactly that kind of replication, and its National Standard Practice Manual gives officials a shared method for judging whether a program's benefits outweigh its costs.
Who it matters to
The main audiences are state energy office staff, governors' policy advisors, utilities and contractors who deliver programs, and local governments or school districts seeking technical help. Researchers and advocates also use SEP-funded studies to argue for state legislation.
Trade-offs to weigh
SEP money is rarely enough to fund a program end to end. It works best as a catalyst, so officials have to pair it with state appropriations, utility program funds or private investment. Federal reporting requirements add administrative load, and funding levels can shift with each federal budget cycle, which makes multi-year planning harder. Because states set their own priorities, the program looks quite different from one state to the next — a strength for local fit, but a challenge if you want consistent national data.
If you are trying to find the office that runs SEP in your state, the map on NASEO's site links directly to each state and territory energy office, which is the fastest route to the right contact.
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