Acadia Center Applauds Rhode Island’s Nation-Leading Efforts on Energy Efficiency
Rhode Island is tied with Massachusetts for first place in the utility-sector energy efficiency programs and policy category of the 2015 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard, released today by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), a national nonpartisan organization. In terms of the overall ranking, Rhode Island is tied with Oregon for fourth place behind Massachusetts (#1), California (#2), and Vermont (#3). This is the third year that Rhode Island has ranked in the top five states.
Least Cost Procurement, first implemented 8 years ago and extended for another 5 years this summer, is largely responsible for Rhode Island’s continued leadership on energy efficiency. “Rhode Island continues to be a leader when it comes to energy efficiency,” said Daniel Sosland, Acadia Center’s President. “Investing in low-cost energy efficiency instead of expensive electricity and natural gas helps Rhode Islanders lower their energy bills and spurs economic growth,” said Sosland.
“Lower energy bills means more money is left at the end of the month to spend on other things, and most of that spending happens locally,” said Leslie Malone, Senior Analyst with Acadia Center. Since 2008, Rhode Island has invested over $558 million in energy efficiency and consumers have realized $1.99 billion in economic benefits. In its 2016 Energy Efficiency plan – recently filed with the Public Utilities Commission – National Grid proposes investing over $83 million in cost-effective efficiency programs to deliver electric savings that are 47% less expensive than the cost of supply, and natural gas savings that are 15% less than the cost of supply. The investments in 2016 will generate more than $256.1 million in direct benefits over the life of the efficiency measures, and add over $386.9 million to Rhode Island’s Gross State Product (GSP) and generate over 4,220 job-years of employment.
Acadia Center is a member of the Energy Efficiency Resource Management Council (EERMC), the stakeholder council charged with assisting with the development, implementation, and review of energy efficiency programs in Rhode Island. The EERMC is critical to the success of energy efficiency in the states, and Acadia Center looks forward to working with fellow members, utilities and other stakeholders to make sure that the plans are implemented effectively to deliver cost savings through lower utility bills, emissions reductions, and clean energy job growth, in addition to broader economic benefits.
See the Scorecard at: http://www.aceee.org/state-policy/scorecard
Contact:
Leslie Malone, Senior Analyst
401-276-0600, lmalone@acadiacenter.org
Kiernan Dunlop, Communications Associate
617-742-0054 x107, kdunlop@acadiacenter.org
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Acadia Center is a non-profit, research and advocacy organization committed to advancing the clean energy future. Acadia Center is at the forefront of efforts to build clean, low-carbon and consumer-friendly economies. Acadia Center provides accurate and reliable information, and offers a real-world and comprehensive approach to problem solving through innovation and collaboration.