National Energy Foundation

More than 1,050 students shared one powerful safety message:
Contact 811 Before You Dig. Every Dig. Every Time. National Energy Foundation, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, is proud to announce the winners of the 2026 National 811 Student Safety Challenge Contest.

Students in grades 4–6 created original posters, while students in grades 7–12 created videos promoting safe digging practices and underground utility awareness. Congratulations to our grand prize winners Caroline H. (Illinois) and Zuri C. (Florida), and to all of this year’s honorable mention recipients!

Their creativity and talents are helping bring pipeline safety awareness into homes, schools, and
communities across the Nation, inspiring others to practice safe digging activities and prevent injuries.

View the winning entries: www.811contest.org

National Survey Question of the Week!

🏠 In the average American home, what uses the most energy in a year?

When NEF asked high school seniors, many said electronics. Some said refrigerators. Some said lighting.

The actual answer: heating and cooling. It's not even close.

Heating and cooling typically account for nearly half of a home's annual energy use, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That fact alone reshapes how a household should think about efficiency. Smart thermostats, insulation, sealing leaks, all of it matters more than swapping out a few light bulbs.

NEF's energy efficiency programs help students bring this kind of practical knowledge home. Because energy literacy that doesn't change behavior isn't really literacy yet.

Full survey: nef1.org/dashboard-2025
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The most measurable way to show community impact in your service territory is to show up where students learn.

NEF builds K-12 energy education programs that are co-branded with utility and energy partners, designed around your community goals, and delivered in real classrooms with real measurement behind them.

Energy efficiency, safety, EVs, careers: we design programs to fit. You bring the goals. We bring the curriculum, the educators, the kits, and the reach.

If you're scoping community engagement for the next program year, let's talk.

Reach out: nef1.org/contact

Think! Energy is NEF's flagship K-12 energy efficiency program. It's a proven winner, delivered in classrooms across the country for years, and the structure is intentionally simple: an engaging in-class lesson, a take-home Student & Famiy Energy Saving Toolkit and follow-up activities that bring families into the learning.

What we hear most often from teachers isn't about the curriculum slides. It's that the kits get used at home. Parents start asking questions. Younger siblings get involved. Energy efficiency becomes a household conversation, not just a classroom topic.

That's how lessons stick.

Learn more about Think! Energy: nef1.org/think-energy

National Survey Question of the Week!

🔋 Quick: what's the largest source of carbon-free electricity in the U.S.?

Most high school seniors guess solar or wind. The answer, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration and reflected in NEF's 2025 National Energy Literacy Survey, is nuclear.

It's not a trick question. It's a signal that students are forming opinions about the energy transition without a clear picture of what the grid actually looks like. That's a problem when these same students will be voting on energy policy in the next few years.

NEF programs give students the facts behind the headlines: how electricity is generated in the U.S., what the tradeoffs are, and how the mix is changing. Real literacy means understanding the system before forming an opinion about it.

Full survey: nef1.org/dashboard-2025

"Our students look forward to the energy presentation every year. They get really excited to take home the Energy Saving devices, the Student Kits and try the experiments with their families."

Teachers say this kind of thing often, and it's the part that doesn't make it onto a balance sheet but quietly drives everything we do. A take-home kit means a conversation at the dinner table. A conversation at the dinner table means a parent learning along with their kid. That's the ripple.

50 years in, we still measure success by what happens after the classroom door closes.

Thank you to Mountain Valley Community Action Program (MVCAP) and Erin Jeffries for highlighting this important discussion from the NEUAC Conference.

NEF's National Energy Literacy Survey continues to spark meaningful conversations about how young people understand energy, affordability and the future of our energy system. Together, we're helping build a more informed and energy literate future.

Learn more about the survey findings: https://nef1.org/survey/

During the National Energy and Utility Affordability Coalition’s (NEUAC) annual conference, MVCAP President and CEO Erin Jeffries moderated a thought-provoking session on energy literacy.

“NEUAC’s conference serves as an important national forum for collaboration, innovation and discussion around policies and programs that help families maintain safe and affordable access to essential utility services,” said Jeffries, who serves on the NEUAC Board.

Jeffries moderated for Gary Swan of the National Energy Foundation and explored findings from the Third National Energy Literacy Survey, conducted of high school seniors, during the fall of 2025. The session asked attendees “When it comes to energy, are you smarter than a high school senior?”

Energy literacy includes understanding how energy is produced and consumed, what it costs, and policies surrounding energy. Understanding how young people perceive these issues can help shape outreach, education and advocacy efforts.

“The session generated strong audience engagement and meaningful discussion around the intersection of education, public awareness, and equitable access to affordable energy resources,” Jeffries said. “It also reinforced the importance of cross-sector partnerships in building a more informed and resilient future.”

Learn more about the Energy Literacy Survey here: https://nef1.org/survey/

Learn more about NEUAC here: www.neuac.org.

The energy industry has a workforce gap. Schools have students looking for careers that feel meaningful and stable. Those two facts should be connecting more often than they are.

NEF programs are one of the most cost-effective ways for utilities and energy organizations to introduce students to energy careers, hands-on, in their own communities. Lineworkers, engineers, technicians, customer service, IT, operations: the breadth of the industry surprises most students.

For partners, this isn't just brand visibility. It's pipeline building, with measurable reach into the classrooms your community depends on.

Curious what a partnership looks like? Let's talk: nef1.org/contact

# NEF

National Survey Question of the Week!

🧾 When students pay their first electric bill, will they know what they're paying for?

In NEF's 2025 National Energy Literacy Survey, many high school seniors couldn't identify the kilowatt-hour (kWh) as the unit on their electricity bill. Some chose watts. Some chose BTUs.

It's a small detail, but it matters. Understanding what a kWh is, and how everyday habits add up to one, is the foundation of every energy-efficiency choice a person makes as an adult. Turning off lights, choosing appliances, charging an EV, all of it comes back to that one unit.

NEF's energy efficiency programs help students connect what's on a power bill to what's happening in their own home. That's the moment energy education becomes personal.

See the full survey: nef1.org/dashboard-2025

The school year is winding down and planning for next fall is already underway.

For utilities, energy organizations, and community partners, summer is the right window to build school-year programming that actually reaches classrooms. NEF works with partners year-round to deliver K-12 energy education that is branded, customizable, and aligned with the communities you serve.

Energy efficiency. Energy safety. EV awareness. Workforce exposure. We can help you deliver any of them, at any scale.

If you're thinking about your community engagement goals for the 2026-27 school year, now is a good time to talk.

Reach out: nef1.org/contact