Dive Brief:
- New Hampshire regulators are considering developing a formal energy efficiency standard, building on recommendations issued last year in the state's 10-year energy plan.
- According to the American Council for an Energy Efficiency Economy, New Hampshire ranks 22nd in efficiency and has been falling in recent years.
- While New Hampshire does have state-run efficiency programs, the Concord Monitor points out that they operate with a fluctuating budget and without formal efficiency targets.
Dive Insight:
The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission has begun the process to create a statewide energy efficiency standard, a recommendation highlighted in the state's decade-facing energy plan released late last year, the Concord Monitor reports.
“It’s an important step to take because it shows the state is committed to energy efficiency in the long term,” consumer advocate Susan Chamberlin told the Monitor. “Energy efficiency is the least costly way of lowering rates and bills for residential customers.”
The state's energy plan, issued by the New Hampshire Office of Energy & Planning, recommended the PUC establish energy savings goals for utility programs and also suggested the state should establish an overall efficiency policy and goal.
The American Council for an Energy Efficiency Economy ranks New Hampshire as 22nd in energy efficiency nationally, down from 21st the year before and 17th in 2012.
"New Hampshire has some policies to promote energy efficiency, but the state lags behind other states in the Northeast and has dropped in the rankings for several years in a row," ACEEE said in their analysis. "Designing a long-term framework for investments in energy efficiency, such as an energy efficiency resource standard, could move New Hampshire up the rankings and put it on par with other states in the region."
The state does run efficiency programs, called CORE, but without a specific budget or target. The 10-year plan recommended the state "determine funding needs and the most appropriate way for the CORE programs to ramp up and be redesigned over time to meet new goals."
