Rhode Island’s high
ranking – protecting the environment, saving energy dollars and creating jobs
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| If you want to see Rhode Island continue to make progress on the environment, vote YES on Question #7 |
The National Ranking (“2014 Scorecard”) for Energy Efficiency Policies by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) recently placed Rhode Island 3rd in the nation for energy efficiency.
It is heartening to see
our state at the top of rankings, particularly in an area as vital to our
economy as energy. This reflects the collaborative efforts of the Energy
Efficiency and Resource Management Council, the Rhode Island Office of Energy
Resources, National Grid, the Division of Public Utilities and Carries, many
diverse private and public stakeholders and the Legislature’s leadership role
in making energy efficiency a longstanding priority.
Rhode Island has had some of the highest energy costs in the country. Aggressive investments in energy efficiency are critical in reducing energy demand, lowering costs for Rhode Island businesses and households, and putting us on a path toward improved economic competitiveness. I want to highlight facts we can all be proud of:
- Ranking 3rd this year, Rhode Island has jumped forward from its sixth-place ranking in 2013.
- We are a leading state in “utility sector energy efficiency,” which are efforts to reduce the demand for energy.
- Rhode Island has one of the most aggressive energy savings goals with targets.
- Rhode Island is one of the few states that effectively implements energy efficiency through minimum building energy codes for new residential and commercial buildings.
The full report is
available here: http://www.aceee.org/state-policy/scorecard.
Energy efficiency programs
are often labor-intensive and completed by local contractors, creating local
jobs. They benefit the environment as we
reduce our fuel reliance. They will save
Rhode Island ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars over the lifetime of
the investments being made in conservation efforts. All-in-all, energy
efficiency is good for the state economy, and our third place national ranking of
is a good sign for Rhode Island.
Susan Sosnowski is
Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Environment & Agriculture.
