Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Hal Cohen, executive director of Central Vermont Community Action Council, a nonprofit organization focused on improving economic opportunities for Vermonters.
There is much talk about the $21 million from the Central Vermont Public Service/Green Mountain Power merger that must be returned to ratepayers. I believe that investing these funds in energy efficiency is a wise and necessary investment for CVPS ratepayers, and all Vermonters. Here’s why: Energy costs are a big threat to Vermont’s economic engine. But not the way you might think.
Most people, when they think of energy efficiency, think about electricity. And that makes sense – as a state, we’ve done a great job of investing in electrical efficiency, and we have one of the top efficiency programs in the country. But the time has come where we need to shift our focus to dealing with a much bigger threat to our collective energy budgets – and we need to move quickly.
Vermont’s biggest energy threat is heating and cooling buildings. Collectively, we are spending a great deal as a state to heat and cool our buildings – our homes, businesses, and municipal properties. According to the state’s Comprehensive Energy Plan, it’s over $600 million a year just for heating fuel. And unfortunately, many of these buildings are wasting 50 percent or more of the energy that is used to make them comfortable. We are wasting money – a scarce resource – buying fuel – another scarce resource – that we waste. This is a vicious cycle that must be stopped.
As fuel costs increase, low- and moderate-income Vermonters face the biggest risk. There is no sliding scale for heating fuel – oil or wood does not cost less because you have less money. And while we give subsidies to help vulnerable Vermonters pay for energy, the cuts to the Low Income Heating Assistance Program make it harder and harder for us to support all of the Vermonters who need this help. For the long-term, we must improve the homes of low-income families so they (and we) are not paying for wasted energy. Reducing the energy burdens of low-income Vermonters makes their economic success and stability more likely, and ultimately reduces their need for outside assistance.
But CVPS ratepayers are focused on electrical benefits. So how does this help ratepayers? First off, making energy efficiency improvements to a building is a comprehensive process. Technicians assess the electrical as well as heating waste, and find opportunities for improvements that will show results relatively quickly. The investment is one that pays off and provides reliable reductions in energy use.
Secondly, making improvements that reduce space heating waste also reduces cooling needs. Making the building tighter and more efficient makes it cooler in summer – and that reduces electrical demand. No matter what fuel is used to heat, in Vermont, we cool with electricity. Reducing peak summer demand is an important goal for all utilities.
A research report by the American Council For An Energy Efficient Economy found that “energy efficiency is by far the least costly energy resource option available for utility resource portfolios. Saving a kilowatt-hour through energy efficiency improvements is easily one-third or less the cost of any new source of electricity supply, whether conventional fossil fuel or renewable energy source.”
All electric utility ratepayers should be focused on supporting investments in energy efficiency, and we need to be making a big collective effort around reducing building energy needs. We can’t afford to keep wasting half of our energy. If fuel costs skyrocket, we do not have the unlimited funds necessary to subsidize our vulnerable neighbors.
By putting the $21 million into energy efficiency, we will reap the economic and social benefits of these investments for decades. CVPS ratepayers will have reduced their own costs, helped vulnerable Vermonters lower their energy risks and helped accelerate our statewide shift to a more sustainable energy economy – which sounds like a win, win, win for all of us.
