By ANNE PICKERING, Staff Writer
With energy conservation measures seen as the fastest way to reduce
greenhouse gasses, legislators in the state House of Representatives
passed an energy efficiency bill in February whose goal is to cut
projected energy use by 2.5 percent in the next five years.
The
state Senate is now considering the bill, H.B. 2200, that has the
support of area environmental groups including PennEnvironment,
PennFuture and the Sierra Club.
A
poll of state senators in the southeast Pennsylvania region found that
many support an energy efficiency bill, said Nathan Wilcox, energy and
clean air advocate for Penn-Environment in an interview Monday, but it
is not certain whether they will support this particular bill.
According
to PennEnvironment, cutting energy use by 2.5 percent in five years is
a modest goal, but if achieved it would result in 7.4 million fewer
tons of global warming pollution being created in Pennsylvania or the
equivalent of removing more than 1.3 million cars from the road for a
year.
In
addition to cutting overall demand by 2.5 percent, the bill also has a
goal of cutting peak demand by 4 percent over four years. Peak demand
refers to those times when energy usage is at its highest -- generally
on hot summer days. In Pennsylvania, some of the oldest and dirtiest
coal-fired plants are used when utilities need extra power to meet peak
demand, said Wilcox.
If
peak demand can be reduced, it’s possible it won’t be necessary to
build additional power plants, said Wilcox, a step that would save
ratepayers millions of dollars.
State
Rep. Barbara McIlvaine Smith, D-156th, of West Chester, was one of the
co-sponsors of H.B. 2200, which passed the House Feb. 12, with a 152-45
vote.
“H.B.
2200 is one significant step on the long road toward achieving the
goal” of a healthier environment, a stronger economy and reduced
dependency on foreign oil. “We need to make Pennsylvania a model for
the rest of the country,” McIlvaine Smith said.
In
two separate op-ed opinion pieces, state Sen. Edwin Erickson, R-26th,
of Newtown Square, and state Sen. John Rafferty, R-44th, of
Collegeville, supported legislation with the goal of cutting projected
energy use by 2.5 percent although neither specifically mentioned H.B.
2200. Rafferty’s letter appeared in the Pottstown Mercury on April 12
and Erickson’s letter appeared in the Delaware County Daily Times on
April 20.
State
Sen. Andy Dinniman, D-19th, of West Whiteland, said Monday there is
wide support in the Senate for a strong energy efficiency bill. “We
want a strong energy conservation measure. What we want to examine is
the cost to consumers.”
To achieve the target reductions in energy use, H.B. 2200 authorizes
the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to appoint a system
administrator who works with a third-party entity, which could be the
utility itself, in developing energy conservation programs. The
administrator has to ensure that programs have clear goals including
cost and benefits and there is a process for monitoring and verifying
results. The commission reviews the recommendations of the program
administrator. Costs to implement the programs can be passed along to
consumers but are capped at 2 percent of the utilities’ overall
revenues.
In
Chester County, PECO, a subsidiary of Exelon Corp., is the sole
provider of electricity and natural gas. If the bill passed, PECO could
request to be the third-party provider.
Wilcox
said the kind of energy efficiency programs that other states have
passed include setting incentives for incorporating green building
techniques in new construction or providing flourescent light bulbs to
consumers.
H.B.
2200 also requires that the electric utility offer smart meter
technology to a certain percentage of customers until it is offered to
all in 10 years. Smart meters show consumers when electricity is most
expensive. The theory is that if consumers have that information, they
will choose to run appliances at times when rates are the lowest.
Cathy Engel, communications manager at PECO, said she could not comment about legislation that had not passed yet.
“We
certainly support efforts to increase energy efficiency for our
customers and to provide our customers the tools they need to use
energy efficiently. In general, we support the passage of a
comprehensive, overall energy package that would help our customers
manage increases in energy prices and Pennsylvania’s increased energy
needs,” said Engel.
The
utility currently has a proposal before the PUC for a program called
Phase One residential real time pricing. If the PUC approves it,
customers who are participating will have access to an interactive Web
site and their meters will be upgraded. Customers will be able to go on
line every day and see what the estimated cost of their energy for the
next day will be. Based on that information, consumers could change
their usage patterns.
There is also information on PECO’s Web site regarding discounts for PECO customers who purchase energy efficient products.
Environmental groups are hopeful the Senate will take up the bill this spring before adjourning for the summer.
