| In a decisive move that reflected Maryland's commitment to the environment and making energy more affordable and reliable to its residents, the state's General Assembly in January overrode a veto of Gov. Robert Ehrlich and became the first among a coalition of Northeast states to enact new energy efficiency standards for a range of nine residential and commercial products.
"Maryland's action also sets the stage for other states in the region to follow suit, thereby maximizing the benefits of energy efficiency, helping to stabilize energy prices, lower electricity demand and reduce harmful emissions," noted Susan Coakley, NEEP's executive director.
This major milestone for the Northeast States Minimum Efficiency Standards Project precipitated a rash of legislative action in the remaining Northeast states with similar pending bills. The bill was one of nine introduced in 2003 in state legislatures from Maryland to Maine that follow model legislation developed by the Project, whose partners include NEEP (coordinator); Natural Resources Defense Council; Environment-Northeast; the State Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs); the National Consumer Law Center; the Appliance Standards Awareness Project; and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
If adopted by all of the Northeast states, the impact would be tremendous to the region: by 2012, standards would help reduce electricity demand by 2,700 megawatts and consumption by 10,000 GWh per annum. In Maryland alone, standards will help the state's taxpayers reduce annual energy consumption by almost 1,350 GWh, resulting in total savings of over $600 Million dollars by 2020. They will also help Marylanders reduce summer peak electricity demand by over 400 megawatts and avoid the emissions of some 192,000 metric tons of carbon.
With federal inaction on energy efficiency measures, states need to once again take the lead on establishing energy efficiency standards, according to the Project partners. The last federal efficiency standards were set in 1992. Following the prompting of several states throughout the 1970s and '80s, federal energy efficiency standards were established in 1987 through the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act. In the years since, however, the federal standards program has failed to keep up with technological progress and the development of many energy-saving products, missing the opportunity for energy savings to be attained through updated standards, Coakley explained. With the federal government not having set any new efficiency standards since 1992, states are once again taking the lead, she added.
The Maryland act was backed by a diverse array of civic groups, local elected leaders and others such as Constellation Energy. Much credit in Maryland goes to Ed Osann, representative of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Gigi Kellett of the Maryland Public Interest Research Group (MaryPIRG), who helped spearhead the victory.
Below are recent developments regarding efficiency standards in each state:
| CT |
Standards legislation was reported favorably out of the Energy and Government Administration and Elections committees. The Office of Fiscal Analysis is currently analyzing the bill and if the department finds no fiscal impact, it will be considered directly by the full Senate. Two key changes to the legislation have helped: slight changes to the standards on Large Packaged Air Conditioners and Commercial Refrigerators helped secure the support of United Technologies Corp., parent company of Carrier air conditioners and the second largest employer in Connecticut. Second, the committee added criteria to language authorizing the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) to add standards at a later date, addressing concerns that the OPM could make future standards recommendations without undergoing an adequate review process. |
| MA |
By a unanimous vote, the Joint Committee on Energy reported favorably on H4363 at an executive session that was held immediately after the Feb. 3 hearing on the bill. The House Ways and Means Committee will next take up the bill. |
| ME |
The Utilities and Energy Committee, on an 8-1 vote, voted to return the standards bill to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). The PUC is instructed to study the issue of appliance standards; how they are faring in other states; as well as possible financial incentives to help consumers purchase energy efficient products. This vote allows advocates to restart the process once the PUC has addressed these questions. |
| NJ |
On Feb. 26, the Committee on Utilities and Telecommunications held a hearing on the standards legislation, A 516. NEEP, New Jersey PIRG, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities attended the hearing in support. Testifying in opposition were Comcast, the New Jersey Business and Industry Association and the New Jersey Retail Merchants Association. |
| RI |
On March 3, the efficiency standards bill was heard in front of the House Corporations Committee. Support came from the bill's sponsor Rep. Art Handy, RIPIRG, Clean Water Action and NEEP. Testifying in opposition were the New England Cable Television and the R.I. Economic Development Corp., a quasi-governmental agency. A couple of days before this hearing, there was another hearing in front of the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources on a previous version of the standards bill. This version will be amended to match H7506 and will be H7184 sub A. Either one could be passed out of its respective committee onto the House floor. |
| VT |
On Feb. 27, by a vote of 24-5, the Vermont Senate passed SB 261, an omnibus energy bill that included efficiency standards. By passing it, the bill now "crosses over" to the Vermont House in time for it to be considered there; bills that are passed by the Senate beyond a certain date in early March do not have to be considered by the House. Trigger language specifying that standards would be implemented if New England states totaling 4 million people (including Vermont) enacted similar efficiency standards was requested by legislators and added to the legislation as well. |
Minimum energy efficiency standards also have been incorporated into two state climate change action plans and are being actively considered in two others. In Rhode Island, the Greenhouse Gas Stakeholder Process has officially endorsed standards legislation and written a letter to the legislature urging their support. In Connecticut, standards have been included in the recommendations sent to the governor by his steering committee on climate change. Both Massachusetts and Maine are actively considering including efficiency standards as these states formulate their plans. Incorporating standards into climate change action plans is important because these efforts involve a diverse group of stakeholders including business interests.
The Standards Project drew a good amount of media coverage in the last few months. Some notable mentions:
- USA Today, Feb. 8, editorial, Federal Inaction Leaves States to Scramble on Environment. http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2004-02-08-our-view-usat_x.htm.
- State House News Service, Feb. 3, Appliances Would Have to be More Efficient Under $250m Savings Bill (subscription required).
- The New York Times, Feb. 1, Week In Review section, Environmentalist Head for the States. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60916FF3D5F0C728CDDAB0894DC404482.
- Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 28, editorial, Energy Conservation - Plugging Along for Better Standards. http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/7811791.htm.
- Greenwire, Jan. 21, State Tightens Appliance Standards, Others May Follow (subscription required for archives).
- The Baltimore Sun, Jan. 14, Energy-efficient Appliances About to Turn On Again as Lively Issue. http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.energy14jan14,0,3741295.story.
- The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 13, editorial, Lacking Energy Bill, States, Gov't Agencies Go It Alone (subscription required for archives).
- The Washington Post, Jan. 11, editorial, On Energy, Maryland Counts (no longer posted online).
- The Hartford Courant, Jan. 4, The Environment (no longer posted online).
- Harrisburg Patriot-News, Dec. 29, 2003, editorial, Appliance Efficiency (no longer posted online).
- The Baltimore Sun, Dec.24, 2003, editorial, Power Down (subscription required for archives).
For more information on the Standards Project, please e-mail Project Manager Isaac Elnecave or visit www.neep.org/Standards/index.html. |
