Colorado Is Top Southwest State in Energy Efficiency

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2015

__________

Colorado achieved top ranking overall among six southwestern states in the 2015 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard released today by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).  The state improved its ranking from 13th in the nation in 2014 due primarily to advances with respect to transportation policy as well as state-sponsored energy efficiency incentives.

The annual scorecard measures states’ progress on a variety of energy efficiency efforts including utility programs and policies, transportation policies, building energy codes and state government initiatives.

“Colorado is demonstrating that advancing energy efficiency makes sense in a state with moderate energy costs, and consumers, businesses and the environment are benefitting, ” said Howard Geller, executive director of the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP), which works to advance energy efficiency in AZ, CO, NV, NM, UT and WY.

“There is more to be done,” Geller said.  “We’d like to see Colorado among the top 10 states nationally within the next few years.”

In order to improve Colorado’s ranking, Geller urged rural electric cooperatives in Colorado to expand their energy efficiency programs for customers.  He also called for adoption of decoupling of electricity sales from revenues for investor-owned utilities and said more cities should adopt up-to-date building energy codes.

Key points about Colorado’s ranking from the report:

  • Colorado rose one number in the rankings from 13th to 12th among states nationally, primarily on the strength of its relatively high level of electric vehicle penetration and its progress in reducing per capita vehicle use.
  • Colorado also advanced in the 2015 scorecard as a result of new state initiatives including financial incentives and technical assistance to encourage energy efficiency in the agricultural sector. Colorado dropped in the scoring of utility policies and programs in the 2015 Scorecard.

The Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) is dedicated to advancing energy efficiency in AZ, CO, NM, NV, UT and WY.  For more information, visit us at www.swenergy.org.

FOR COMMENT:

Howard Geller, SWEEP Executive Director.  (303) 447-0078 ext. 1; (720) 313-9337 cell; hgeller@swenergy.org