A group that represents 70 percent of the American power industry teamed with energy associations and environmentalists to call on the Obama administration to encourage energy efficiency in order to jump-start the sagging economy.Stimulus money could be used to develop the smart grid and provide smart meters for consumers that detail precisely how much energy they are using and when they are using it. Energy providers would be able to adjust rates accordingly to demand.
The trade associations and environmental groups believe that a recovery package must include $33 billion for state and local governments that would be earmarked for efficiency programs. Weatherizing businesses, homes, and public buildings would also be a priority. However, to qualify for any of the money, states would have to follow the example of states such as California and Idaho that have allowed public utilities to generate revenue streams from efficiency investments.
"In our industry, energy efficiency is now a core business," said Tom Kuhn, president of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI). The institute, which represents the country’s investor-owned electric utilities, joined with the other groups to lobby Congress. Kuhn added that efficiency is as much a priority as any infrastructure needs such as transmission lines or power plants.
Improving energy efficiency is the cheapest way for utilities to make more power available to consumers, as opposed to building new power plants. At the same time, carbon emissions are reduced.
In November of this hear EEI and the Natural Resources Defence Council, an environmental group, joined together to call for nationwide regulatory changes that would allow energy providers to pass on the costs of infrastructure efficiency enhancements to their customers. On Friday, the groups said that states should have to make those changes in order to receive any of the stimulus money that could go towards smart meter deployments. Congress is expected to mull over a stimulus plan at the beginning of 2009.
Utilities could also use the money to install smart thermostats, or other intelligent devices, that allow residents to control the flow of energy to power-hungry appliances. Consumers would be able to set the thermostat to cycle air-conditioning on and off during times of peak consumption, when costs are high, to save money and reduce demand on the electric grid.
Some states already have incentives in place that encourage utilities to deploy smart meters and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). Power providers also need to be able to adjust electrical rates in a way that they don’t lose money when they sell less electricity.
Kuhn said that new technologies allow for energy to be conserved without any sacrifices to comfort. At the supply end, efficiency can conserve power at such a large scale that operational costs are significantly reduced and backup power plants never have to come online in order to meet demand. Oftentimes, these backup sources of power are of the most polluting kind.
Kateri Callahan, of the Alliance to Save Energy, said that the United States is not only the largest consumer of energy in the world but the least efficient among developed countries. She said that providing stimulus money to encourage energy efficiency programs would create tens of thousands of jobs, save consumers money, and would build a sustainable power grid.
Greenhouse gases would be reduced annually by an amount equal to the amount annually produced by Germany, added Peter Lehner, executive director of the Natural Resources Defence Council. Lehner also said that the cost of the efficiency investments would be returned “many times over” to American consumers.
Edison Electric Institute
701 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20004-2696
http://www.eei.org
Natural Resources Defense Council
40 West 20th Street
New York, NY 10011
http://www.nrdc.org
Alliance to Save Energy
850 M Street NW
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
http://www.ase.org
"In our industry, energy efficiency is now a core business," said Tom Kuhn, president of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI). The institute, which represents the country’s investor-owned electric utilities, joined with the other groups to lobby Congress. Kuhn added that efficiency is as much a priority as any infrastructure needs such as transmission lines or power plants.
Improving energy efficiency is the cheapest way for utilities to make more power available to consumers, as opposed to building new power plants. At the same time, carbon emissions are reduced.
In November of this hear EEI and the Natural Resources Defence Council, an environmental group, joined together to call for nationwide regulatory changes that would allow energy providers to pass on the costs of infrastructure efficiency enhancements to their customers. On Friday, the groups said that states should have to make those changes in order to receive any of the stimulus money that could go towards smart meter deployments. Congress is expected to mull over a stimulus plan at the beginning of 2009.
Utilities could also use the money to install smart thermostats, or other intelligent devices, that allow residents to control the flow of energy to power-hungry appliances. Consumers would be able to set the thermostat to cycle air-conditioning on and off during times of peak consumption, when costs are high, to save money and reduce demand on the electric grid.
Some states already have incentives in place that encourage utilities to deploy smart meters and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). Power providers also need to be able to adjust electrical rates in a way that they don’t lose money when they sell less electricity.
Kuhn said that new technologies allow for energy to be conserved without any sacrifices to comfort. At the supply end, efficiency can conserve power at such a large scale that operational costs are significantly reduced and backup power plants never have to come online in order to meet demand. Oftentimes, these backup sources of power are of the most polluting kind.
Kateri Callahan, of the Alliance to Save Energy, said that the United States is not only the largest consumer of energy in the world but the least efficient among developed countries. She said that providing stimulus money to encourage energy efficiency programs would create tens of thousands of jobs, save consumers money, and would build a sustainable power grid.
Greenhouse gases would be reduced annually by an amount equal to the amount annually produced by Germany, added Peter Lehner, executive director of the Natural Resources Defence Council. Lehner also said that the cost of the efficiency investments would be returned “many times over” to American consumers.
Edison Electric Institute
701 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20004-2696
http://www.eei.org
Natural Resources Defense Council
40 West 20th Street
New York, NY 10011
http://www.nrdc.org
Alliance to Save Energy
850 M Street NW
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
http://www.ase.org
