Efficiency can help us reach energy independence

The old adage “waste not, want not” applies to our nation’s energy challenges, and we should consider this practical advice as we contemplate how best to meet our energy needs.

Georgia wastes too much energy, but we can capture that wasted energy and use it to power our homes and offices, saving money, creating new jobs and growing our economy.

Energy efficiency allows us to do more with less. For example, we can save enough energy to meet the needs of more than 2 million homes in Georgia. That helps reduce our need for imported energy and also mitigates the need to build new power plants that raise rates for consumers. Energy efficiency can provide Georgians $6.3 billion in net energy savings while producing nearly 9,000 net jobs in our state.

Saving energy clearly makes financial sense. Meeting our needs at an average cost of 3 or 4 cents per kilowatt-hour, energy efficiency is as easy on the wallet as it is on our natural heritage and our public health.

Recently, a coalition of 35 state treasurers, comptrollers, investors and other asset managers urged Congress to set national goals for energy efficiency and renewable energy. Because every dollar invested in energy efficiency saves consumers roughly $4, a national goal for energy efficiency will save money.

Plenty of examples in the Southeast demonstrate the tremendous savings available through energy efficiency. For example, the aluminum manufacturer Alcoa invested roughly $300,000 to upgrade its heating and cooling equipment at a facility in Tennessee and one in Florida. This one-time investment will save the company $310,000 every year on operation costs. Now the company has plans to make additional investments in efficiency with the goal of $100 million in annual savings.

McKinsey and Co., a global energy consulting firm, estimates that energy efficiency can offset more than 80 percent of increased electricity demand in the United States by 2030. This is an important opportunity, and Congress is poised to make sure our nation takes advantage of it.

Congress is considering an Energy Efficiency Resource Standard that will reduce electricity usage 15 percent and natural gas usage 10 percent by 2020. EERS encourages energy efficiency by setting a national standard for energy savings and giving states the flexibility to determine how best to achieve them.

The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy says that an EERS will create 260,000 net jobs and save utility customers more than $140 billion.

At the same time, Congress is investigating policies to address climate change and help us achieve energy independence. Critics warn that families and businesses will face higher prices as we limit pollution, but energy efficiency will actually save consumers money despite rising costs for energy.

Southeastern utilities are already beginning to take advantage of cost-effective renewable energy resources like biopower, and analysis of government and academic data shows that Georgia has enough renewable energy resources to meet more than 25 percent of its electricity needs by 2025. Investing in renewable energy will create additional jobs to address our region’s skyrocketing unemployment.

Energy efficiency is Georgia’s first fuel. There’s no need to struggle to meet our energy needs when we waste so much of the energy we already produce. An EERS will help overcome the barriers to being more efficient and make energy efficiency profitable for energy suppliers and their customers. It’s up to Congress to pass this critical legislation that will harness the energy we waste while we cash in on the savings.

Angela Speir Phelps, a former Public Service Commission member, is deputy director of Georgia Watch. Jim Powell, formerly with the Department of Energy, consults in energy efficiency.