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CPUC Approves $3 Billion for US’ Biggest Energy-Efficiency Programs
In what can be termed as the most aggressive energy-efficiency plan among US states, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) gave its due approval to over $3 billion, in the 2010-2012 budget, for rate-payer supported energy-efficiency programs to be run by Pacific Gas & Electric Co., Southern California Edison; San Diego Gas & Electric Co.; and Southern California Gas.
The latest move by the California regulators comes after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's earlier-this-month order that the state should obtain one-third of its electricity from renewable resources by 2020.
The CPUC said that the program, called CalSPREE, will bring about a saving of almost 1,500 megawatts of electricity, or 7,000 gigawatt-hours, along with 150 million metric therms of natural gas.
The agency specified that the projected savings will do away with the requirement of generating 1,500 megawatts of power from fossil fuels, thereby saving three million tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
Further, noting that the programs will create between 15,000 and 18,000 jobs, the CPUC said that though the funds were 42 percent more than its previous three-year budget, but 20 percent less than the companies' request.
Saying that the approved funding will kick off the biggest residential retrofit effort in the US, CPUC President Michael R. Peevey remarked: "Capturing the full energy efficiency potential in the state requires more than simply providing rebates to support the installation of the latest and greatest widget."