Like most Coloradans, I’m pinching every penny these days and trying to make every dollar count. There’s simply no room for wasting money or making unwise investments in this troubled economy.
But wasting money is exactly what so many of us do every day when we pay for energy that goes wasted because our homes and workplaces aren’t as efficient as they could be. And, if we aren’t paying close enough attention, we could be allowing utilities to make unwise investments with our energy dollars.
Luckily, Colorado has a thriving industry of energy-efficiency experts and a wide array of utility and state programs to choose from to help them stop wasting energy and start saving.
But the amount of energy and money that Coloradans are able to save is largely determined by how wisely our utilities invest ratepayer dollars. Do they put their customers’ money into high-dollar power plants, or invest in high-yield energy-saving programs? Usually, it’s a mix of both because, on the whole, energy use in Colorado is on the rise.
But the more our utilities invest in energy-saving programs, the lower our overall energy demand is, and the less you and I have to pay for energy in the future.
Take Xcel Energy. In 2009, the utility invested about $44 million in energy-saving programs, which lowered electricity demand by 220 gigawatt hours per year, paid for themselves, and saved ratepayers $206 million on their utility bills. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know of many investment schemes that have that good of a return.
Not only do utility energy saving programs lower energy demand and costs, they also help improve Coloradans’ quality of life and boost the state’s economy.
The less money people have to spend on energy bills, the more money they have to spend where it matters most – on their families, communities and themselves. And the more money that Coloradans have as a whole, the more money will be injected into the local economy, and hopefully even into savings accounts. That’s putting money where it belongs – not throwing it out the window on wasted energy.
Utility programs that help Coloradans make energy-saving improvements to their homes and places of work also create good local jobs in the energy services, engineering, construction, retail and manufacturing trades. These are good-paying jobs in both the blue- and white-collar fields that nearly everyone has a shot at.
In fact, Colorado is home to hundreds of businesses large and small dedicated to helping households and businesses lower energy use and costs. Utility energy saving programs like the ones offered by Xcel help these companies thrive and grow.
So how can you make sure your utility invests your energy dollars wisely? Pay close attention to what happens at the Colorado Public Utilities Commission and at board meetings of municipal and large investor-owned utilities like Xcel, and voice your support for investing in energy-saving programs. Because the more our utilities are doing to save energy, rather than produce it, the better off all Coloradans and our state’s economy will be.
Shane Flansburg is executive director of the Energy Efficiency Business Coalition, a 501(c)6 non-profit trade association representing businesses involved in the manufacturing, distribution, installation, sales and marketing of energy efficiency technologies. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column.
