MASSACHUSETTS GOES FOR EFFICIENCY

Massachusetts Sets Ambitious Energy Standards
Leslie Kaufman, January 29, 2010 (NY Times)

"Massachusetts… announced new energy efficiency standards for utilities that aim to be the most ambitious in the nation.

"The plan calls for a statewide reduction of 2.4 percent in electricity use and 1.15 percent in natural gas use annually for three years…through $1.6 billion in incentives for utility customers who take certain steps to conserve energy, like insulating their houses or replacing conventional light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones."

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"The reductions were mandated by the Green Communities Act, passed by the state legislature in 2008…Utilities, regulators and energy advocates haggled for months to reach the 2.4 percent annual reduction goal, a figure considered to be close to the upper limit of what can be achieved annually…

"At the heart of the plan is a quadrupling of annual spending for consumer outreach and conservation incentive programs to about $600 million from $150 million. Money will be available to consumers for services like free energy audits, and rebates will be offered for the purchase of energy-efficient appliances and air-conditioners…[T]he state will surpass California in spending per person on conservation measures…[that] will translate reliably into energy savings…"

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"…[The Massachusetts] plan’s upfront cost of more than $1 billion would be covered partly through fees paid by consumers and partly through auctioning pollution allowances and through other revenue sources. Massachusetts auctions these allowances as part of the 10-state carbon trading system called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative…Eighty percent of revenue from the auction in Massachusetts is intended to go into the efficiency program.

"Consumers will eventually reap $6 billion in savings on their utility bills from the efficiency plan, even after accounting for the added fees…[A recent study] estimated that putting the measures into effect would also create 25,000 jobs…"