Stimulating Energy Efficiency Action in States

Under the State Energy Program, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) competitively awarded $2.86 million in September, 2010, to assist states in developing policy and program frameworks to support investment in cost-effective energy efficiency for the long term. The focus of these agreements is to help states that are not harvesting low-cost energy efficiency resources become leaders in reducing energy use.

For the purposes of this funding opportunity, states that are not harvesting low-cost energy efficiency resources are defined as:

1. States that have achieved less than 0.5% savings relative to electricity sales based on 2007 data from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy's 2009 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard; or

2. States that have invested less than 1% of total electricity or gas revenues on energy efficiency (from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy's 2009 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard); or

3. A state that does not meet this definition based on 2007 data can provide convincing evidence that it is below either of the thresholds above, using data from 2008 or 2009.

The award funding assists states in stimulating ground-level development of results-based policies and programs that will aggressively reduce energy use through cost-effective energy efficiency, and bring the state to have similar levels of annual savings from energy efficiency as today's leading states. Each award consists of two phases:

Phase 1: States are required to establish an annual energy savings target of at least 1% through energy efficiency and develop an action plan to achieve the established target. Under Phase 1, states review the goals and steps outlined in the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency Vision for 2025: A Framework for Change to inform the process of setting the target and developing the action plan.

Phase 2: States are required to begin execution of the action plan developed in Phase 1. Execution of the action plan may include the adoption of new energy efficiency policies in the state, and the implementation of utility and/or other statewide programs that will deliver energy savings to consumers through energy efficiency.

The general steps in Phase 1 and Phase 2 are:

The program and policy frameworks developed to achieve the established target will be created through a collaborative and inclusive stakeholder process in the states. The process is led by the state energy offices, and key stakeholders likely include governors, legislators, consumer advocates, public utility commissions, utilities, nongovernment organizations, and others. The collaborative stakeholder process is expected to build on the foundation of the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency.

The selected states and U.S. territory under the DOE Funding Opportunity Announcement are:  Alaska, Kentucky, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, and Texas.

You can read background and supporting information about this program on the following websites:

• Funding Opportunity Announcement (April 2010) for these awards
• National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency, including the tools and resources for states
• State Energy Efficiency Action Network (SEE Action), including resources for state and local governments.