Statement on Energy Information for the 21st Century

National debate is expanding on critical energy policy issues ranging from reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions to enhancing the nation's energy security and defining the future of our electric utility industry. Yet, the record of US model-based energy forecasting and policy analysis yields evidence that such models provide biased estimates that tend to reinforce the status quo, inadequately inform policy-makers about new market potential, and serve to constrain the development of innovative policies. To address this concern, an informal working group of some 30 modelers and policy analysts attending the 2003 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Industry drafted a statement for consideration by the larger community of policy analysts interested in energy issues. The intent is to encourage the development of a research agenda that can help advance the state of the art in policy modeling.