Some states pulling back from energy efficiency despite success
April 10, 2014 | By
Barbara Vergetis Lundin
In 2012, more than half of U.S. states met their energy efficiency targets, with most states meeting or exceeding their goals. This is according to new research by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). Implementing energy efficiency programs can save utilities money by eliminating the need to build more power plants. In 1999, Texas was the first set efficiency targets, specifically an energy efficiency resource standard (EERS). Since then, half of the states in the country have followed have also set long-term targets. These policies have prompted utilities to invest in energy efficiency programs ranging from appliance rebates to whole building retrofits. For example, in Arkansas, utilities worked with customers to replace water heaters, weatherize homes, and find energy savings for poultry producers. In Wisconsin, Focus on Energy programs have helped residents and businesses achieve more than $730 million in savings by replacing refrigerators, offering incentives for energy-efficient heating, and conducting free energy assessments for small businesses. Utilities in these states say that energy-efficiency targets are too expensive to implement, despite a landscape of EERS policies that are providing cost-effective energy savings in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Nevada. Due to the resistance, energy efficiency programs have stalled in the remaining states. In Indiana, for example, legislators recently passed a bill ending energy efficiency programs that had been established by a prior regulatory commission order, eliminating the state's EERS. In Ohio, state lawmakers are considering legislation that would freeze the state's energy efficiency targets. ACEEE research has found that programs to reduce energy waste cost utilities less than three cents per kilowatt hour. Generating the same amount of electricity from fossil fuels can cost two to three times more. "Opponents of energy efficiency savings targets ignore the costs of building expensive new power plants, which are paid for through charges on utility bills," said ACEEE senior fellow Martin Kushler. "Because saving energy through efficiency improvements is much cheaper than building a new power plant, energy efficiency programs end up resulting in lower utility bills for customers." For more:
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