State Report: Budget Raid On Energy Funds Hurting Connecticut Economy Written by Gregory B. Hladky, www.courant.com, March 30, 2018 Lawmakers’ deficit-driven decision to “sweep up” $127 million in energy efficiency program funds will trigger far larger economic losses, according to a state board created to monitor Connecticut’s efforts to cut energy use. The Connecticut Energy Efficiency … Read more
Lighting standards loophole jeopardizes energy and cost savings for fluorescent tubes Written by Chris Granada, appliance-standards.org, March 23, 2018 A legal loophole has already denied American consumers expected energy savings from efficiency standards on fluorescent tubes. Unless it is closed, this loophole threatens additional missed savings, particularly for households and small businesses. General service fluorescent … Read more
Clean Energy Programs, as Explained by Baseball Written by Allison Donnelly, ERS for Zondits, March 28, 2018 Suppose you wanted to improve how your community or customers use energy. A common way to do that is to create a program that offers incentives to decrease the cost of buying a more expensive – but better … Read more
Anti-EE Bill Advances in Iowa Legislature Written by Leah Scull, Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, March 21, 2018 Last week the Iowa House Commerce Committee passed Senate File 2311, a bill that will significantly alter the way utilities drive customer energy savings programs in Iowa. The bill has already passed the Senate and is now eligible to go … Read more
The Pay for Performance Solution Valerie Eacret, ERS, presented at Rocky Mountain Utility Efficiency Exchange on September 28, 2017 Custom-calculated efficiency rebate programs can create savings uncertainty for energy efficiency program administrators. Because rebates are typically paid based on first-year annual savings, awarded incentives for these projects may be based on greatly over- or underestimated … Read more
Massachusetts approves energy regulations for cannabis cultivation. What are the implications? Written by Sam Milton, Climate Resources Group, March 1, 2018 In its final day of deliberations after a wide-ranging nearly 6-month regulation-development process, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) just raised the bar on cannabis cultivation in the state. In short, the Commission agreed to include all … Read more
Lawmakers Want To Restore Energy Efficiency Funds, But Don’t Know Where To Find The Money Hartford Courant, February 13, 2018 Connecticut energy contractors and a bipartisan group of lawmakers called Tuesday for restoration of $175 million in state energy efficiency program funding that was taken by the General Assembly to help solve a massive budget deficit. But the same … Read more
This nonprofit has helped make 20,000 apartments more energy efficient Yale Climate Connections, January 1, 2018 Improving energy efficiency not only helps prevent global warming pollution. It can lower utility bills, and provide much-needed savings for low income people. Elevate Energy is a Chicago-based nonprofit that helps make affordable housing developments more energy efficient. The … Read more
‘But wait, there’s more!’ — Cuomo seeks update to New York storage bill Utility Drive, December 5, 2017 The governor’s signing memo for the energy storage bill last month calls for the legislation to be amended in 2018. “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings.’ In the context of energy storage in New York, … Read more
Dan Pidgeon, ERS, for Zondits The 2017 ACEEE Scorecard was released in September, highlighting more state-led energy efficiency progress. The 11th edition of the scorecard continued to measure states’ energy efficiency success by the following metrics: utility and public benefits programs and policies, transportation policies, building energy code and compliance, combined heat and power (CHP) … Read more