Proponents of energy efficiency programs and utility company workers wince when they hear arguments like this: Residents and business owners don’t need incentives to weatherize their home or upgrade their equipment because it makes economic sense even without a rebate, low-interest loan or competitive grant.
It’s correct that installing insulation or buying more efficient heat pumps, air conditioners, appliances or furnaces typically save owners money over time. But studies show that, even if it’s good for them, owners usually need a push to make changes. Incentives help them change. The real debate should not be about whether incentives work, but which incentives work most effectively and stand to maximize benefits for every dollar spent.
On Wednesday the board of trustees for the quasi-state agency Efficiency Maine Trust is scheduled to vote on a three-year strategic plan, covering fiscal years 2014 through 2016. Though the governor-appointed board members do not have power to set funding levels — the Maine Public Utilities Commission must next approve the plan — they can outline priorities and explain the best possible energy-saving initiatives.
If they want to make a difference in customers’ energy use, they can focus on substantial incentives that will motivate sales in a way that alters the larger market. They can set and stick to medium and long-term goals that assure manufacturers it’s worth the effort to invest. They also can make sure their plan has some flexibility, to allow them to adjust programs if they need improvement or expand them if new funding sources become available.
The ultimate goal is, and should be, to reduce upfront costs for customers, so they change their habits and, with their more energy-efficient lifestyle, recoup their initial investment and much more. This is also a good time for Maine residents, business owners and political leaders to understand how Efficiency Maine operates, so they can better utilize programs.
Most of Efficiency Maine’s funding comes from what’s called the “systems benefit charge,” which is applied to everyone who pays an electricity bill. For an average Maine home, the charge totals about $8.50 per year. Because electricity users are paying into the fund, Efficiency Maine must only use the money to save those users electricity. The agency should continue to build off this practice — that people who pay also benefit — so all users eventually gain back more than what they contributed — whether through avoided transmission costs, reduced electricity costs or incentives.
When determining how to apply incentives, it’s important to devise ways to reach customers who otherwise would not have installed energy efficiency measures without a rebate or discount — to prevent free riders. Sneaking in discounts has worked with Efficiency Maine’s compact fluorescent lamp rebate program, for instance. The agency discontinued all marketing expenses for the project in order to drive up the total amount of its rebates, which were paid directly to participating retail stores and made the price of a CFL the same or cheaper than incandescent bulbs.
When customers bought a CFL (which can use 75 percent less energy and last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs), the deduction was marked automatically at the checkout counter, and the store got reimbursed for making the discount; the customer never knew a rebate was involved. With the incentive, the number of fluorescent bulbs that Mainers purchased at participating stores doubled in fiscal year 2011. The retailers who chose not to participate in the program sold hardly any, according to Efficiency Maine Executive Director Michael Stoddard.
Reaching more residential customers will require similar innovative thinking — as will increasing participation among business and commercial electricity users. One of Efficiency Maine’s tactics has been to partner with contractors, like electricians and ventilation specialists, who then inform store and building owners about the more than 100 available rebates. The rebates may be small, but they motivate owners to upgrade from their standard lights, freezers and air compressors to high-efficiency models. The agency also has offered competitive grants to commercial users, like paper mills, that propose ways to save a great amount of electricity with as little of Efficiency Maine’s money as possible.
Efficiency Maine only pursues projects that bring a greater than 1-to-1 return. (And it’s written into law that the agency must save residential and commercial heating consumers no less than $3 for every $1 of program funds invested by 2020). So the question then becomes about the best practices to pursue. Where will its money have the greatest impact? The board of trustees and the PUC have the responsibility to outline energy policies over the long-term. May they be fair, realistic and broad-minded in their approach.
Since when did the government know what’s best for all of us? Never!!! Besides, if the government provides an incentive, it must loot someone else in order to provide that incentive.
All government’s are nothing but gangs of thieves that loot, and extort, in order to enrich themselves, and control the populace.
You’d rather live in a cave? Help yourself.
Why would he live in a cave without Gov. interference? I know speaking for myself I’d be a lot better off without the Government in my pocket all of the time, redistributing what I earn.I for one would like to see government about 75% smaller that what it is.
In the morning, he leaves a home that was built/remodeled by someone not following code (code being gov’t regs).
Drives to work in a car that was built without any standards to follow, which sheds parts all along the government-built highway (now falling apart because supporting the infrastructure is an aspect of gov’t). Goes the last few miles by walking the car along, his feet having gone through the rusted-out floor (none of your stinkin’ gov’t -mandated inspections for him).
Arrives at work, where the employer is free to treat him as poorly as he pleases, and Jeff has no legal recourse.
Does as he’s told, which includes some very personal activities for the boss’s benefit, which I won’t describe in a family paper.Puts in his 12 hours, heads home enjoying the knowledge that he’ll have to work until he drops, because Social Security and Medicare have been destroyed.
Also cheered by the knowledge that if he gets laid off there will be none of those socialistic unemployment benefits, and because he can’t afford health insurance from a for-profit insurer (got rid of that darned Obamacare!) because of pre-existing conditions, he can’t get treatment for his illnesses. Which seem to be getting worse, thanks to no nasty gov’t regs at work.
Cheered by the knowledge that there will be no welfare or food stamps for him, he drags what’s left of his car the last few miles down the unplowed road to his house, eager to dive into a meal of non-government-inspected meat, DDT-sprayed potatoes, and what water he can get from the decayed and polluted local water system. He wonders what color it will be tonight.
Arrives home to discover that the roof has fallen in. Jeff is so glad that he thought ahead and built a cave in his backyard to crawl into!
Wow, that was a bit extreme. I see that when this country finally falls flat on its face because we are broke trying to give everyone womb to tomb care you ain’t gonna make it. Must be hard now when you have to make a decision for yourself and the government isn’t there to hold your hand.
There is no need for government. It produces, and invents nothing. All that it does is erect a massive complicated system that takes from some people and gives to other people, while keeping a significant portion for itself. It’s an extortion racket.
Why is it right to take money from all eletric users and give it to large companies so they can reduce their electric bills? All the sensible things are done by these companies in other states without subsidies. Many states used to have such programs but most have seen what a waste they are and have done away with them or severely reduced them. Originally the idea was to reduce electric demand to prevent the utilities from having to build new electric generation but now we have excess generation, and utilities don’t make power anyway. Now there is no rational reason to keep Efficiency Maine going except it is a government agency and government agencies never go away when they are no longer needed. All this is about trying to figure out a reason for their existence and they are having trouble finding anything that makes sense and can be achievable.
By the way, the picture used with the editorial above has nothing to do with Efficiency Maine. They don’t support using efficient gas furnaces. Just another indication of how uninformed editorial writers are.
I support energy efficiency, but think that CFL’s as they are now made are NOT the way to go. The way they are currently manufactured, they contain mercury. The benefit of energy savings from CFL’s to the environment and ultimately, to the taxpayer depends on the end-user always disposing of them responsibly. Factoring in the inconsistency of human behavior, it must be assumed that some percentage of the millions of CFL’s sold in the US will eventually end up in the local landfill and then by extension, in our water table.
It will then require tons of Federal and local funding and probably decades of mercury pollution before the problem is fixed…And who pays for Brownfield (toxic abandoned property) cleanup? Taxpayers. I guess who this (the taxpayer) ends up being depends on who wins the upcoming elections, but either way, the CFL’s seem like a bad idea. Can a mercury-toxic water table even be fixed? I for one, don’t want to find out.
Luckily there are now other options. Specifically, LED bulbs that use no mercury, are long life and can be found for a variety of uses. Here is a commercial site that offers more information than you will ever want:
http://eartheasy.com/live_energyeff_lighting.htm#led2
Waste of taxpayers money. Set up not to provide a service but to siphen off funds through salaries..
You want to make money Start a green fund to provide anything green. pay yourself 150K a year and write a report every three months.. I confronted one State Rep who was doing this at a meeting one day and it created enough heat we had to open the windows.. months later he got outed on it.