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"I lived in this house for six years. My average summer bills were $140 to $180. Suddenly they are $305 to $340. I don't know what's going on." |
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"Currently our electric bill is close to 10% of our monthly income. I dread the arrival of the bill now. What does the future hold?" |
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"From this bill it looks like the electricity is going to cost about $550 per month. If I had known this two years ago I would not have gone on with my business because I would not have shown a profit." |
Eighteen dollars ($18.00) worth of electricity in 1973 cost you $83.00
in 1993. Your bills have gone up every year for lots of reasons. The most
obvious is nuclear power plants that were billions of dollars over budget
and frequently not in service. But there are other reasons. Your bill continues
to go up because your utility company is not listening to or hearing from
consumers. There are better ways to provide your electric service that
cost less.
Energy Efficiency is also known
as Demand-Side Management or DSM
An energy efficiency program controls utility costs by reducing customer
energy needs. A DSM program and an energy conservation program are not
necessarily the same. Many DSM programs are designed to increase customer
energy use. Don't be fooled.
Typical DSM Programs
Builder Incentives - New Homes
Air Conditioner & Heat Pump Rebates
Weatherization & Retrofit Rebates and Loans
Energy Conservation Potential
The potential for energy conservation is tremendous. In 1990 the
Electric Power Research Institute estimated that the United States could
save up to 44% of total projected energy consumption through the year 2000
through investments in efficiency. Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory estimates
savings of up to 50%. Rocky Mountain Institute estimates savings of up
to 70%.
In Texas, we could need only half the power plants
we have now.
Studies show that 64 new fossil-burning power plants will be built
in Texas over the next 20 years at a cost of up to $29 billion or more.
In addition, there are plans to build over 2,500 miles of transmission
lines at a cost of $600 million.
Using data generated by the University of Texas Center for Energy Studies,
Texas ROSE estimates that utilities could help their customers save 55,876,000
kilowatthours by 2006 at a cost of 3.7¢ per kilowatthour or less.
In 1995, the average Texan paid 7.84¢ per kilowatthour.
Reducing the need for power through energy efficiency reduces utility bills,
reduces pollution, conserves limited supplies of fossil fuels and stimulates
job growth in local service areas.
If utility companies would listen to the conservation experts, consumers
would be paying $2.5 billion less every year for electricity by the year
2010. On top of that we would save between $8 and $29 billion on new plants.
Conservation Creates More Jobs and Stimulates
Local Investment Conservation programs typically create two
to four times more jobs than a comparable investment in construction of
a power plant. These jobs are created locally where people are using the
energy.
Conservation programs typically direct more money to local manufacturers,
retailers, and installers of high efficiency equipment and insulation.
Conservation programs keep investment capital in state and in local communities.
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Consumer Bill of Rights | Integrated Resource Planning | Renewable Energy Sources | To Join Texas ROSE |
Send comments or questions to: sharrush@mail.utexas.edu
