Connecticut ranks #6 among all states for its energy efficiency efforts, according to the 2015 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard released today by The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), a national nonpartisan organization. Connecticut held steady at the #6 spot from last year’s ranking.

“Connecticut deserves real credit for remaining a top ten performer in the rankings,” said William E. Dornbos, Acadia Center’s Connecticut Director and Senior Attorney. “Connecticut’s strong commitment to cost-effective energy efficiency helps give the state a chance to thrive – saving consumers money on their energy bills, creating jobs in the home performance industry, and growing our economy through local investments made in nearly all of our towns and cities.”

Acadia Center reviewed the Scorecard and found that an area of particularly high scoring for Connecticut is in the “utility and public benefits programs and policies” category – the largest portion of the Scorecard’s total score. Connecticut’s utility-administered energy efficiency programs demonstrated excellent national performance, earning more points for Connecticut than forty-six other states. Only Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont scored higher in this category.

Acadia Center identified two areas in the Scorecard where Connecticut could increase its score by next year – building energy codes and combined heat and power. Specifically:

  • Connecticut has not yet implemented the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). Connecticut law requires the state to adopt the 2012 IECC within 18 months of its publication date of May 2011. Connecticut is now almost three years past that deadline. Most leading states have already adopted the 2012 IECC.
  • Connecticut has not put in place sufficient programs and incentives to speed the deployment of combined heat and power (CHP), an efficient and clean way to generate electricity and produce heat through the use of a single fuel, usually natural gas. CHP projects are highly efficient because they generate electricity on-site – rather than at remote power plants – and they use the waste heat for heating or industrial needs. Connecticut was an early leader in deploying CHP, but has stalled on that front more recently.

 

“The gaps identified in the Scorecard should guide Connecticut’s energy policy actions,” said Dornbos. “We need to act with much more urgency in updating building energy codes, deploying CHP, and with other efficiency reforms because we’re missing out on the tremendous benefits they can offer our economy and quality of life. We can and should do more on efficiency, and we look forward to working with Connecticut policymakers to accelerate progress on cost-effective energy efficiency over the next year.”

Acadia Center is a member of Connecticut’s Energy Efficiency Board (EEB), which is a stakeholder body that has statutory responsibility for advising and assisting the state’s utilities in developing and implementing cost-effective energy efficiency plans for electricity and natural gas. The EEB recently approved a new three-year energy efficiency plan that is now before the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for its regulatory review and approval. The plan proposes energy savings targets that, if achieved, will provide over $2.1 billion in benefits to Connecticut’s residents and businesses over the life of the plan’s investment. The demand savings will be equivalent to a 262 MW power plant.

For more on ACEEE’s Scorecard, go to: http://aceee.org/state-policy/scorecard.

Contact:

William E Dornbos, Senior Attorney
860-246-7121 x202, wdornbos@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.