06162009 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

E k . a z Enr ciency anPui_ P e c ower; Ma ?M1, waulab # energy go : Municipally-owned electric utilities have a particular advantage when offering energy efficiency and conservation programs because the ratepayers are also the citizens of the city. The utility is directly accountable to this constituency and not to shareholders in far-off places who might not have the residents' best interests, like lower utility bills, at heart. • What is Energy Efficiency: Simply put, energy efficiency includes products, equipment and processes that use less energy than conventional approaches that do the same work. Everything from compact fluorescent light bulbs to attic insulation to better building codes makes a home or business use electricity more efficiently. • Conservation: Energy efficiency is not the same as conservation. Conservation is a scaling back of consumption, but energy efficiency does not entail any sacrifice or curtailment of service or production. Both are important. • Cheap Energy: Energy efficiency is the cheapest, quickest and cleanest way to meet the demand for electricity. On average, energy efficiency costs 3.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. By comparison, new nuclear power could cost between 11-20 cents per kilowatt-hour. • Lower Bills, Cleaner Air: Energy efficiency not only reduces a home or business's operating expenses, it improves air quality by reducing the need to run coal and natural gas-fired power plants. • Pays for Itself. Energy efficiency pays for itself over time, and ratepayers can see savings on the first bill after a measure is installed. • Incentives Make it an Easy Choice: Some energy efficiency measures, like insulation, window replacement and new appliances can have a prohibitively high cost for an individual home or business. Utility rebates and other incentives offer a way to lessen the financial burden and quicken the payback time. • City Revenue Not in Danger: City revenue is often dependent on utility revenue, which is based on energy consumption. This creates an incentive to keep utility bills high. What municipal utilities can do is adopt innovative ways to separate sales from revenue, so that the utility can offer robust energy efficiency programs, stay solvent and keep revenue coming into the city coffers for streets, firefighters, and police. • Many Sources of Funding Available: Funding for rebates and other incentives can come in part from the avoided cost of larger power contracts and stimulus funds. Other sources of funding could include a small service charge attached to bills that would not exceed the monthly savings from installed energy efficiency measures, and low-interest loans that can be paid back on the utility bill. • Spread the Word: Ratepayers should have a variety of energy efficiency and conservation tools to reduce their utility bills, but the effectiveness of these programs depends on consumer awareness. Utilities need to share information about the benefits of energy efficiency widely so program participation is strong. Public Citizen • Texas Office 1303 San Antonio Street • Austin, TX 78701 Phone: 512.477.1155 9 Fax: 512.479.8302 www.citizen.org/texas