| Resource Type | Tool |
| Author / Source | U.S. Department of Energy (Office of State and Community Energy Programs) |
| Publication Date | May 2020 (page last updated June 2025) |
| Location | United States |
| Initiative Type | Program, Policy, Partnership |
| Project Complexity | Beginner |
| Recommended For | Staff, Board, Community Organizations |
Estimated reading time: 15 minutes
Why This Matters for Rural Electric Co-ops
The LEAD Tool is a free, interactive DOE platform that shows how much households spend on energy and what share of their income it takes. A co-op can group the counties, census tracts, and tribal areas it serves to see where energy burden is highest and who carries it.
That gives staff and boards a data starting point for targeting weatherization and efficiency programs, designing low-income rates or bill assistance, and supporting grant applications with partners. Readers should skip the expired tax credit promotion on the landing page and go straight to the tool. The data covers 2018 to 2022, so it is a solid baseline but not a precise snapshot.
Key Takeaways
| › | Energy burden can be broken out by income level, renter or owner status, building age and type, and primary heating fuel. |
| › | Custom geographies let a co-op approximate its service territory by combining counties, cities, and census tracts, since the tool does not map co-op boundaries directly. |
| › | Heating fuel data can show where propane or fuel oil households face high costs, which may point to beneficial electrification and efficiency opportunities. |
| › | Case studies from states, cities, and one utility show how others used the data to shape programs and policy. |
Implementation Considerations
- Member Buy-In: Tract-level averages describe areas, not individual members, so co-ops should pair the data with their own billing and arrears information before targeting outreach.
- Staffing or Technology Requirements: The tool is free and browser based, but turning the data into program decisions takes some analysis. A step-by-step guide and recorded webinars help, and smaller co-ops may want to work with a statewide association or community action agency.
- Time-Sensitive Information: Results rely on American Community Survey data from 2018 to 2022 and will age if DOE does not refresh them. The landing page also promotes federal home efficiency tax credits under the IRA. Those credits have expired, so readers should ignore that promotion and not rely on it for member programs.
Notable Examples
- National Grid: Investor-owned utility in New York featured in a case study on using LEAD data to target affordability services to eligible customers.
- Kentucky: State case study showing how LEAD data directed energy efficiency funding to high-burden areas.
- Carrboro, North Carolina: Small town case study using the tool to pursue building efficiency improvements for low-income households.
- Rochester, New York: City case study applying the data to reduce energy costs for low-income households.
Estimated reading time: 15 minutes
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