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California's Energy Efficiency Success Story09-17-15 | News

California's Energy Efficiency Success Story
$90 Billion in Utility Bill Savings Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs, and 40+ Polluting Power Plants Avoided

A major ramp-up is still needed to meet California's long-term climate and energy goals.

California's 40-year commitment to energy efficiency has saved Californians $90 billion on their utility bills. It has also created hundreds of thousands of efficiency jobs. The state has avoided the pollution from 41 power plants.

The Natural Resources Defense Council and the national nonpartisan business group Environmental Entrepreneurs published the report. However, the report cautioned that a major efficiency ramp-up is necessary to meet the state's long-term climate and energy goals.

"Energy efficiency is a major success story for California – saving customers billions on their energy bills over the last four decades," said Lara Ettenson, one of the report's authors and NRDC's director of California Energy Efficiency Policy. "But the state needs to double down on policies and programs that encourage smarter energy use to clean the air for all Californians and create local clean energy jobs."

The report, "California's Golden Energy Efficiency Opportunity: Ramping Up Success to Save Billions and Meet Climate Goals," details the numerous benefits Californians have enjoyed thus far – including monthly household electricity bills that are $20 less per month than the national average – thanks to the state's energy-saving programs, building codes, and appliance standards. The report also shows significant work remains in order to tackle California's climate and energy goals, and save residential, business, industrial, and agricultural consumers even more money while continuing to stimulate the economy.

"Californians know energy efficiency means jobs and cost savings," said Bob Keefe, executive director of E2. "We can still reach the state's goal of doubling our energy efficiency savings by 2030 – but only if our lawmakers and policymakers in Sacramento move more aggressively to advance better energy efficiency policies and programs."

Without a substantial acceleration and improvements to the existing implementation process, the current trajectory would fall far short of Governor Jerry Brown's goal to double energy efficiency savings by 2030.

Efficiency programs"?ualong with new building codes and appliance and equipment standards"?uwould have to save enough energy over the next 15 years to cut the state's total electricity needs by almost one-third and its natural gas use by more than 10 percent, according to the NRDC and E2 report. The report is here.