Dive Brief:
- Massachusetts and California are the nation's most energy efficient states in 2014, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, which released its annual report on state efficiency rankings this week.
- States spent a total of $6.3 billion on electricity efficiency programs in 2013. Combined with natural gas program budgets of $1.4 billion, the report finds efficiency program budgets were estimated to be more than $7.7 billion last year.
- Savings from electricity efficiency programs in 2013 totaled approximately 24.4 million MWh, a 7% increase over 2011 savings, ACEEE said.
Dive Insight:
ACEEE's State Energy Efficiency Scorecard found that 23 states fell in the energy efficiency rankings in 2014, with Indiana dropping the furthest due in part to state legislators’ decision to eliminate the state’s long-term energy savings goals. Legislators in Ohio made a similar decision to freeze the state’s energy efficiency resource standard, the report noted.
"Despite these policy setbacks, utilities in both states have indicated they will continue running efficiency programs, albeit at levels below what would have been required by the standards," a summary of the report said.
ACEEE found that states that enforce and adequately fund an energy efficiency resource standard drive investments in utility-sector energy efficiency programs. The states with the most aggressive savings targets include Arizona, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
The five least-efficient states this year are North Dakota, Wyoming, South Dakota, Mississippi and Alaska, the report found.
