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Nearly $3 in energy savings for every $1 invested in energy efficiency by Iowa’s electric cooperatives in 2007
Energy efficiency is paying off for people who receive electricity from Iowa’s electric cooperatives, according to an energy-efficiency report filed with the Iowa Utilities Board by the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives.
In 2007, Iowa’s electric cooperatives, which provide electricity in each of the state’s 99 counties to approximately 650,000 Iowans, invested $11 million in energy-efficiency programs. Participation in the programs by electric cooperative member-consumer-owners in 2007 resulted in approximately $30.3 million in energy savings.
There also was an environmental benefit to the investment in energy-efficiency programs. By reducing demand for electricity, consumers reduced the amount of electricity that utilities would otherwise have generated, which would have placed emissions into the air. The energy savings over the life of the energy-efficiency measures installed in 2007 is equal to enough electricity to provide power for approximately 34,000 homes or a city the size of 85,000 people, which is equivalent to Iowa City and Coralville, combined.
“Consumers who participate in energy-efficiency programs offered by electric utilities are saving money on their energy bills and reducing the emissions their electricity needs produce,” said Marion Denger, president of the board of the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives. “Iowa’s electric cooperatives are continuously evaluating their energy-efficiency programs and looking for ways to make them more effective and easy for our consumers to use.”
Electric cooperatives offer energy-efficiency programs, rebates and incentives to help residential and nonresidential customers use energy wisely and save money on their utility bills. In 2007, electric cooperatives experienced a 25-percent increase in energy-efficiency program investment compared to planned energy-efficiency expenditures. The result of that investment was a 36-percent increase in energy savings for end users.
“Energy efficiency is one way to address concerns about global climate change, but more action is needed,” Denger said. “A thriving economy that provides and creates jobs for Americans must have affordable and reliable electricity, and policymakers must prove that their strategies ensure affordable and reliable electricity so the nation’s economy is able to compete in a global economy.
“Congress must invest adequately in research and development of technology that will help the United States become energy independent. Doing so will help avoid unnecessary electricity price increases for Americans at a time when they’re paying record prices for a gallon of gasoline, while also experiencing significant price increases for natural gas and propane.”
The Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives, formed in 1942, represents the interests of and provides support to the electric cooperatives that provide power in each of Iowa’s 99 counties to approximately 650,000 people.
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