After nearly a year of negotiations with the state’s utility companies, Massachusetts officials announced a set of new energy efficiency standards on Friday in what is anticipated to be the most ambitious plan in the nation.

The action calls for a 2.4 percent reduction in electricity use statewide, and a 1.15 percent reduction in natural gas use annually over three years. The plan will largely be paid for through an existing energy efficiency charge, third-party financing, state revenue from carbon credit auctions, and a modest increase in rates for customers.

Mandated by the Green Communities Act of 2008, the state’s utilities will invest nearly $2.2 billion in incentives for customers to conserve energy through weatherization, rebates on energy-efficient home appliances, and free home energy audits. State officials expect costs to be offset by a projected $6 billion in efficiency-related savings for consumers over the life of the program. The plan is expected to create some 25,000 jobs statewide.

If met, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy says Massachusetts is expected to surpass California as the nation’s most energy-efficient state.

The news came as the federal government announced its own plan to reduce its energy use and heat-trapping emissions by 28 percent, compared to 2008 levels, over the next decade. As the nation’s largest consumer of electricity and fuel, the Obama administration said the goal, if met, would save nearly $10 billion in energy costs by 2020.

Copyright 2010 Amanda C. Becker

You can find the writer here or at the Providence Environmental Examiner

Photo: Kevin Tostado, EveryStockPhoto

Further Reading:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/30/science/earth/30energy.html?ref=earth
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2010/01/30/mass_sets_new_energy_efficiency_standards/

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/30/science/earth/30efficient.html?ref=earth