STATE SCORECARD ON UTILITY AND PUBLIC BENEFITS ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS: AN UPDATE

Dan York, Ph.D., and Martin Kushler, Ph. D.

February 2003

Executive Summary

In 2000, ACEEE published the report State Scorecard on Utility Energy Efficiency Programs (Nadel, Kubo, and Geller 2000). This report analyzed utility spending on energy efficiency programs in each state, which included scoring and ranking states based on the following four parameters:

1. energy efficiency expenditures as a percentage of utility revenues;
2. electricity savings as a percentage of electricity sales;
3. changes in expenditures as a percentage of revenues between 1993 and 1998; and
4. changes in savings as percentage of sales between 1993 and 1998.

The 2000 scorecard report was based on data available through 1998. This 2002 update includes data through 2000, which is the most recent official data available. This update tracks selected data and derived indicators of energy efficiency program activity from 1993 through 2000, namely:

1. energy efficiency expenditures as a percentage of utility revenues;
2. energy efficiency expenditures per capita; and
3. electricity savings as a percentage of electricity sales.

In this update, we report the above data and derived indicators directly for each state. We also track these data and indicators over time using the database developed for the 2000 scorecard. (However, we do not replicate the scoring scheme used in the scorecard to develop a single score and associated ranking of states.) We also track total spending on energy efficiency programs for the United States as a whole.

Key Findings

1. Total spending (utility-reported demand-side management [DSM] combined with public benefits spending) has increased modestly since 1997—from $918 million to $1.10 billion in 2000.
2. Public benefits funding has increased rapidly since 1997 and has become a large share of total funding for energy efficiency programs.
3. Public benefits spending is expected to continue to increase, as indicated by the total amount of funding authorized by states enacting such programs. Public benefits spending in 2000 in many states was not fully “ramped up” to the full amounts of authorized budgets.
4. Generally, most states that have been actively engaged in providing energy efficiency services have continued to fund and implement energy efficiency programs, although the funding mechanisms and structure of programs in many cases are changing.
5. The states most actively providing publicly supported energy efficiency programs continue to be primarily in the Northeast (including New England and the Mid- Atlantic region), the Pacific Northwest, and certain parts of the Midwest, as well as the states of Florida and California.
6. A number of states are notable for increasing their commitment to energy efficiency from the late 1990s, although in most of these cases (New York, Wisconsin, Texas, and Vermont), spending levels in 2000 were still lower than 1993. A few states (notably Connecticut and New Jersey) increased spending from the late 1990s and also are at higher levels than they were in 1993.
7. There is great variability in funding levels for energy efficiency programs. About one-third of the states (16) account for 86% of total U.S. spending on energy efficiency programs. One-half of the states (25) account for essentially all (95%) of total spending on efficiency programs. Even within this top half of states, there is great variability, as the spending per capita ranges from $1.16 to $19.48—a factor of about 17 from lowest to highest.

The overall trend in energy efficiency activity reflects a growing recognition among states that energy efficiency programs provide important economic and environmental benefits. Whether funded through traditional utility DSM or emerging public benefits programs, many individual states are showing renewed commitment to ensuring that energy efficiency is a strategic element in meeting present and future energy demand.

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36 pp., 2003, $17.00, U023