This March, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE), a nonprofit promoting responsible and equitable energy choices, published its fifth annual Energy Efficiency in the Southeast report. After years of historic underinvestment in energy efficiency, new federal funding and utility resource planning will allow the region to increase its energy efficiency. SACE held a fantastic webinar explaining the intricate details of the report; watch it HERE.
After gathering performance data from roughly 500 electric utilities in the Southeast, SACE evaluated how the latest policy developments and performance trends affect energy efficiency. The report found that, while previous efforts to improve efficiency in this region have been inadequate, prioritizing efficiency can accelerate the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy, reducing consumer costs.
Southeastern states have had some of the highest electricity usage and monthly energy bills in the nation, but this can change, especially with the rapid influx of federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BPL). The infographic above demonstrates how both the Southeast and the South fall below the national average in annual efficiency savings. But as SACE’s report outlines, there has never been a larger historical investment in energy efficiency than now. Local utilities, states, and municipalities have the ability to utilize those funds to their advantage.
Energy efficiency is a low-cost demand-side strategy that helps reduce energy waste. As SACE highlights, if we begin to view energy efficiency as an energy resource, then we can get on track to lower electricity bills and decarbonize the power sector.
Here are three important takeaways from SACE’s webinar:
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- Low-cost efficiency efforts can reduce total utility system costs for all consumers while improving reliability during extreme weather events.
- To maximize financial benefits for customers, new federal funding and utility efficiency spending should be leveraged together.
- Increasing investment in energy efficiency will be the key to accelerating the just transition to clean energy.
SACE showcases the importance of leveraging energy efficiency to be used as an energy resource, reducing customers’ energy bills, increasing reliability, and streamlining the transition to clean energy. By combining energy efficiency spending and the Southeast’s $1.8 billion in federal funding, consumers will greatly benefit. Texas should treat energy efficiency as an energy resource and strive to deliver consumers low energy costs, high reliability, and a clean energy sector.