Terms

Washington, DC—Today, Senator Tina Smith (D-Minnesota) introduced the American Energy Efficiency Act of 2019 with cosponsors Senator King (I-Maine) and Senator Merkley (D-Oregon). The bill sets a national energy efficiency resource standard (EERS), administered by the states, to lower utility bills for consumers and reduce emissions that contribute to climate change. EERS programs work by setting energy consumption reduction targets for electricity and natural gas, with targets slowly ratcheting up over time.

In 2018, states, cities and companies made progress on energy efficiency, while the federal government took steps backward. This year holds promising opportunities, particularly at the state, city and business level. Unfortunately, we expect a continued need to defend efficiency standards, targets, and funding at the federal level and in a few states.

ACEEE welcomes the release of the Energy Efficiency 2018 report from the International Energy Agency (IEA). The report underscores efficiency’s critical role in meeting greenhouse gas reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement and highlights the disappointing news that efficiency investments have slightly decreased in the United States and China.

As the world remains fixated on one of the most-anticipated sporting events of the year, ACEEE will release the results of its own World Cup. Will Germany defend its 2014 World Cup title and its 2016 International Energy Efficiency Scorecard triumph? The wait is almost over.