Last is no place to be when the topic is saving energy during an era of record prices.
Yet
that's where Maine is - last among New England states in the amount of
energy saved by business, industrial and residential consumers.
Not surprisingly, Maine is also last in the amount of money it invests in energy-efficiency programs.
Lawmakers
should support a proposal in LD 1931, "An Act to Encourage Energy
Independence in Maine," to double the rate Maine charges electric
customers to fund efficiency programs.
Energy
conservation is no longer just a personal virtue. Experts agree it's
the quickest and cheapest way to reduce energy bills and increase
system reliability. Building more efficient power plants can take
years. Saving electricity is as simple as changing light bulbs.
With
rates charged by the regional electric authority projected to rise 20
percent in 2006, on the heels of a 15 percent jump in 2005,
conservation is Maine's first and best option.
LD
1931 proposes to add 0.15 cents per kilowatt hour to the existing 0.15
cent charge over the next three years. That's what other New England
states are spending now. The added revenue would dramatically increase
the ability of Efficiency Maine to expand its successful existing
programs. Last year, each dollar invested by the group produced $2.26
in energy savings. These programs saved enough to power 4,000 Maine
households for a year.
Still,
Public Advocate Stephen Ward's suggestion to phase in the increase over
five years is a good one. That would limit the bump per average
customer to $2.32 a year.
Backers
of the bill, including its sponsor, Sen. Philip Bartlett, D-Gorham,
should also consider targeting programs to lower peak demand, which
occurs in the summer. Because rates are set on peak demand, reducing it
will cut everyone's bill, including large industrial customers who are
now grumbling rather loudly about the need to support increased
efficiency.
However,
the bill's attempt to resolve the tension between transmission
companies - which make money when they sell electricity - and
conservation is potentially problematic.
We
agree it's tough to convince utilities to support conservation when it
cuts into their bottom line. The bill calls for the Public Utilities
Commission to propose a new compensation regime for review early next
year. It would be better instead to study a range of potential
alternatives.
LD
1931 would help Maine achieve other worthy goals, too, like cutting
school energy bills and promoting energy-wise building construction.
With a few tweaks, it deserves bipartisan support.
