States and Utilities Commit to Action Plan for Energy Efficiency

August 2, 2006

More than 50 leading organizations have joined together to develop the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency, which aims to help states and utilities overcome barriers that limit investment in energy efficiency. The action plan, released on July 31st, was developed with assistance from DOE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and with the participation of electric and gas utilities, utility regulators, state agencies, large energy users, consumer advocates, energy service providers, and environmental and energy efficiency organizations. As part of the announcement, 72 organizations in 33 states announced commitments to increase their investments in energy efficiency.

The plan builds upon best practices from successful energy efficiency programs already operating in many areas. It recommends recognizing energy efficiency as a high-priority energy resource; making a strong, long-term commitment to implementing cost-effective energy efficiency as a resource; broadly communicating the benefits of and opportunities for energy efficiency; promoting sufficient, timely, and stable program funding to deliver energy efficiency where cost-effective; and modifying policies and ratemaking practices to encourage utilities to invest in energy efficiency. See the action plan, the list of commitments, the EPA press release, and other related documents on the EPA Web site.