State regulators charged with increasing utility efficiency

The National Resources Defenses Council and Edison Electric Institute urge officials to help utilities make energy efficiency a durable business proposition.

By Jenni Spinner November 19, 2008

In an open letter to members of the National Assn. of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), members of the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Edison Electric Institute (EEI) called upon the organization to actively consider ways to increase energy efficiency within the electric utility industry.

Emerging from years of dialogue among representatives of the U.S. environmental community and electric power sector, the letter urges NARUC members to move beyond removing disincentives to greater efficiency gains, to creating an environment in which power companies can build “a durable business case for utility involvement in end-use energy efficiency.” The letter was delivered to NARUC Nov. 18 during the group’s annual meeting, in New Orleans.