|
PUC Commissioner Dian
Grueneich:
“Our goal is
to achieve maximum
energy savings through coordinated
actions of utility programs,
market transformation, and
codes and standards.” |
|
Big and Bold
CPUC’s Roadmap for
an Energy Efficient California
by
Lisa Lilienthal
“Big” and
“bold” are words that not only describe new initiatives from the
California Public Utilities Commission (PUC), they also convey the
enthusiasm held by PUC Commissioner Dian Grueneich.
“The PUC funds and
oversees the world’s largest energy efficiency program and the nation’s
most aggressive renewable program,” she says. “My goal is for every
person in California to know that and be proud of it.”
A self-described lifelong environmentalist, the commissioner’s personal
style is one of collaboration and communication, and she’s working to
break down the compartmented approach that can plague the policy-making
process, the result of making decisions in committee meetings or hearings
and not via a participatory process. “Whether it is in a context of formal hearings or day-to-day dialogue, the
best and most creative solutions emerge when people talk to one another,”
she says.
As the lead commissioner on energy efficiency, Grueneich takes to heart
the PUC’s mandate to lower energy costs, promote economic growth, and
protect the environment. To that end, she is encouraged by the current
spirit of collaboration among investor-owned utilities in
California.
They are key players in executing a 2005 decision by the PUC to fund a
3-year, nearly $3 billion process from which a 10-year strategy on energy
efficiency will emerge.
The planning process is important because it is anticipated that, over the
next decade, investor-owned utilities in California will spend about $10
billion on improvements to existing facilities. One of the benefits of
that investment is that it helps avoid the construction of 10 new power
plants, but it is also a chance to focus on energy efficiency projects
that have a long and substantial payoff. In fact, Grueneich says it’s a
move that should save $20 billion and, importantly, spare communities in
California the burden of new plants and new transmission lines.
“There’s a rule of thumb that for every dollar you spend – whether it is
for compact fluorescent light bulbs, insulation, or high efficiency
appliances – you save two dollars in energy expense,” explains Grueneich.
“This idea is the most effective tool we have in our tool box. California
utilities have not only the largest bundle of programs from which to
choose, but the most comprehensive.” For example, she points to over
200 programs that provide incentives to boost green building.
“We know that a well-designed green building may cost a little more
upfront,” Grueneich explains, “but these measures will save money over
the lifetime of the building.” Many local utilities offer customers
advice and input on the latest sustainable technologies during the design
phase of a new building, and rebates and incentives to incorporate the
technologies during the construction phase.
Grueneich also points to the
Flex Your
Power™ program for low-income residents that allows households to
receive a variety of energy efficiency services. Flex Your Power is
California's statewide energy efficiency marketing and outreach campaign.
Initiated in 2001, it is a partnership of California's utilities,
residents, businesses, institutions, government agencies and nonprofit
organizations working to save energy. The campaign includes retail
promotions, a comprehensive website, an electronic newsletter, educational
materials and advertising. Flex Your Power has received national and
international recognition, including an
ENERGY STAR award for excellence.
A recent Flex Your Power partnership offered by the City of Glendale Water
& Power and the city of
Glendale
gave low-income families the opportunity to exchange old appliances for
new ENERGY STAR models for $100. Another program at Anaheim Public
Utilities provides free weatherization to low-income families.
What does the next 10 years look like? “I am convinced that we can rapidly
achieve new levels of energy efficiency – we don’t need dozens of years or
political battles to make it happen,” says Grueneich. “But we do need
ideas.” Grueneich in early May kicked off a “Big/Bold Strategies”
campaign focused on developing a plan for how the state will spend that $1
billion a year over the next 10 years to keep California in the forefront
of sustainable technologies.
Designed to encourage ‘out of the box’ solutions, “Big/Bold Strategies”
began with a series of three workshops to, as Grueneich says, “explore
significant untapped energy efficiency potential.”
“Our goal is to achieve maximum energy savings through coordinated actions
of utility programs, market transformation, and codes and standards,” says
Grueneich. “From these early workshops, key areas for further exploration
will emerge, and the Commission will then conduct a second series of
workshops to further define and refine these ideas.” *
“It’s a great time to be at the PUC,” says Commissioner Grueneich. “We
may be at the tipping point today, but the PUC has for several years taken
a long view on policy that recognizes that we can’t take our natural
resources for granted.”
* The second series of workshops will be held at the CPUC Auditorium at
505 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco, June 5 through 12, 2007. For more
information, visit
www.cpuc.ca.gov and search under ‘energy efficiency,’ contact CPUC
Program Lead Anne Premo at
awp@cpuc.ca.gov or
(916) 324-8683, or, to be added to the service list, email
process_office@cpuc.ca.gov with the proceeding number (R.06-04-010),
your name, address, email address, and phone number.
|
