Utility investments in energy efficiency do more while using less – like increasing consumer comfort while using less energy to power their homes and offices.
Energy Use in the Utility Sector
Utility demand-side management programs throughout the last two decades avoided the need for nearly one hundred 300-Megawatt power plants in the U.S. alone.
Rising consumption of electricity is straining generation and transmission capacity in many regions of the U.S.
Benefits of Utility Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency provides benefits to both the utility and its customers by saving consumers money, increasing consumer comfort, reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing economic competitiveness, and promoting energy security. With utility programs delivering efficiency at 2 to 4 cents/kilowatt-hour (kWh), energy efficiency holds massive potential as a low cost alternative to supply side investments, it is the cheapest, fastest, and cleanest way to respond to utility shortages and challenges. Over the last two decades, utility sponsored programs negated the need for about one hundred 300-megawatt (MW) power plants in the United States alone. In addition to allowing capital expenditures to be deferred, energy and peak demand savings can also create operating efficiencies and increase system reliability.
How the Alliance Helps Utilities Save Energy
The Alliance collaborates with utilities through its Clean and Efficient Energy Program for Public Power (CEEP). Launched in early 2009 by the Alliance in partnership with the American Public Power Association (APPA) and the Large Public Power Council (LPPC), CEEP is a nationwide initiative to assist public power utilities in the planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of energy efficiency and renewable energy activities.