Transcript Energy Efficiency

Legislation Crossfire
Setting the Stage
David K. Owens
AABE Chair
Legislative Issues and Public Policy Committee
2010 Annual AABE Conference
May 20, 2010
America’s Challenges

Stimulate economy and get America back to work
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Health Care (Legislation passed)
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Financial Reform
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Immigration
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Address climate change
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Transform our society to be greener and more efficient
Increases in Energy Prices Hit Low- and
Fixed-Income Households the Hardest
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Income spent on energy for
households earning
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>$50,000 / year - 7% of income
$10,000 - $30,000 / year – 20% of
income (25% of households)
<$10,000 / year - 46% of
income (8% of households)
Households earning < $30,000
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Mostly senior citizens, single
parents, and minorities
Force hard decisions about what
bills to pay … housing, food,
education, health care, and other
necessities
Household Energy Expenditures
vs. After-Tax Household Income
50%
45%
One-third of
Americans
shoulder major
energy burden
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Over $50,000
$10,000 - $30,000
Sources: Redefining Progress; U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2006 Annual Social and Economic Supplement
Under $10,000
Climate Change Questions
We Must Answer!

How do you minimize the impact of compliance costs on
consumers?

What must U.S. climate change legislation and carbon
management strategy include to

Ensure economic growth?
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Ensure energy security?
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Avoid unfairness?
Protecting Customers
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Targets & timetables
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Timing of transition to full auction
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Allocation of allowances can help address cost of compliance
Other ways to mitigate cost impacts on consumers
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Must be harmonized with the availability of technologies
Price collar / safety valve
Offsets
Strategic allowance reserve
Combined efficiency and renewable energy standard
Different Regions of the Country
Different Fuel Mixes to Generate Electricity
*Includes generation by
agricultural waste, landfill
gas recovery, municipal
solid waste, wood,
geothermal, non-wood
waste, wind, and solar.
** Includes generation by
tires, batteries, chemicals,
hydrogen, pitch, purchased
steam, sulfur, and
miscellaneous
technologies.
Sum of components may
not add to 100% due to
independent rounding.
Source: U.S. Department of
Energy, Energy Information
Administration, Power Plant
Operations Report (EIA923); 2008 preliminary
generation data.
January 2010
© 2010 by the Edison
Electric Institute. All rights
reserved.
African American Communities:
Have high unemployment rates
 Have the lower median family income
 Are in regions heavily dependent on power generated by
coal
 Have the least access to Renewable Energy
 May be Required to Purchase Renewable Energy From
Other Regions of the Country
 Will be significantly impacted by Climate Change efforts

What Will It Take to Address Climate
Change?
There is no silver bullet!

Renewables

Energy efficiency
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Clean coal technologies
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Carbon capture and storage
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Nuclear

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (Smart grid)
We need it all … but it will be costly!
Energy Efficiency Can Lower Bills
Help Address Climate Change

Average US household owns 24 consumer electronic
products
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2 DVRs use as much energy in 1 year as a refrigerator
Play Station and X-Box use more electricity than a PC
PCs and TVs now account for 10% of a home’s electricity usage
99% of these products must be plugged in or recharged
42” Plasma TV uses more than twice as much as a standard 27” TV
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More efficient use of energy could significantly reduce
energy bills
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Need to educate all consumers about how to save energy
and use it more efficiently
American Reinvestment and
Recovery Act (ARRA)
Total: $78 Billion
Beyond Green Jobs:
America’s Future Energy Jobs
Source:
Opportunities - Green Jobs
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Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
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American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (Stimulus Bill)
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$125 million / year to create a worker training program, special focus
on opportunities for low income people
Significant funding for a broad range of programs – including energy
efficiency, renewables, climate change, smart grid
Workforce training
Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010
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Authorize $6 billion over 20 years for a national energy retrofit
program for American homeowners
Opportunities - Green Jobs

Renewables - Roof-top solar heating, water, energy
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Energy Efficiency
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Energy audits, retrofits, new technologies, green building standards
Efficiency management – data mining
Smart meters / smart grid
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Meeting the increasing state, federal and consumer requirements
Replacing legacy systems with new technologies
Demand response
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Provide consumers and utilities with new tools to manage demand
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Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles
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Need programs to develop and attract new talent
What Do We Need To Do?
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Cost mitigation
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Jobs and Small Business
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Mitigate the costs on low-and fixed-income consumers associated
with the new energy and climate economy
Create jobs and business opportunities for minority communities,
and for minorities in general; and
Energy Literacy
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Facilitate improvements in energy literacy through education,
training, and outreach