Cape Light Compact Three‐Year Energy Efficiency Plan Approved
Cape Light Compact customers to benefit from enhanced and expanded programs and incentives being offered statewide
Barnstable, MA, February 3, 2010 – Cape Light Compact and Massachusetts’ gas and electric utility program administrators received approval for their 2010‐2012 three‐year energy efficiency plan to deliver energy efficiency services to MA residents and businesses from the Department of Public Utilities on January 29, 2010. Approval of this historic plan signals a new era of delivering integrated, effective and measurable savings through energy efficiency programs to citizens, while addressing the challenges of climate change and fostering job growth and economic output within the state.
Types of programs and services offered under the plan include improved energy assessments of ratepayers’ homes and businesses, and incentives for purchase and installation of high efficiency lighting, appliances, heating and air conditioning, insulation and air sealing.
Specifically, Cape Light Compact customers will benefit more significantly from deeper and broader programs and incentives being offered throughout the state. The Compact’s small business retrofit and new construction customers will receive a cost incentive of 80% up to $150,000 ‐ up from the previous cap of $75,000 ‐ to fund their approved projects. The Compact will also continue to provide 100% tuition reimbursement for the Building Operators Certification (BOC) program for municipal employees.
Residential customers will benefit from an exclusive Cape Light Compact rebate on energy efficient dehumidifiers (with turn‐in of inefficient unit at the Cape Cod Life/Cape Light Compact Seaside Living Expo at the Hyannis Youth & Community Center on May 1‐2, 2010) plus additional savings through the upcoming Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ appliance rebate program, tentatively scheduled to launch in March 2010, that will help residents replace older, inefficient refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers and dishwashers with new, ENERGY STAR® qualified and ultra‐efficient models. Cape Light Compact will also roll out custom pilot programs including a Deep Energy Retrofit designed to provide a 50% or higher energy reduction compared to baseline energy use, and home automation control units designed to help second homeowners monitor energy use remotely.
Cape Light Compact’s Energy Education Program earned additional allocations for workforce training and development and expansion of the National Education Energy Development (NEED) project curriculum to more grade levels.
Funded over three years with $1.7 billion from distribution charges on electricity bills, the proceeds of Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative allowance auctions, customer contributions, and third‐party capital, the electric energy efficiency plans are expected to yield energy savings of nearly $5 billion, rocketing Massachusetts to the front of the national pack in terms of per capita savings through energy efficiency.
“This is a very impressive investment plan and the Compact will remain committed to bringing new and innovative program offerings and unprecedented savings to our customers over the next three years,” said Bob Mahoney, Chairman of Cape Light Compact.
On the electric side, the plan sets an energy savings target of 2.4 percent of electricity sales in 2012, which would reverse the overall electricity usage trend from growing roughly 1 percent per year to declining 1.4 percent per year. Previous electric utility energy efficiency programs have produced savings of 0.8 percent to 0.9 percent annually. Energy efficiency investments to reach the 2012 target will save approximately 2,600 gigawatt‐hours of electricity – enough to power more than 350,000 households, or 15 percent of the utilities’ residential customers, for one year. With electricity savings of 2.4 percent per year going forward, Massachusetts would meet nearly 30 percent of its electricity needs through improved energy efficiency, rather than additional power generation, by 2020. The plan also calls for the creation of 4,000 jobs in the clean energy sector in the Commonwealth.
The Compact’s estimated contributions to the statewide goals include:
- 436,473 short tons of CO2 (about 4.47% of statewide values)
- 70,138 cars (about 4.32% of statewide values)
- 129,665 tons of trash (about 4.32% of statewide values)
- 113,483 MWh of annual and 1,250,954 MWh of lifetime energy savings
“These opportunities for even greater customer participation, more rebates and more technical assistance to residents and businesses in order to save energy come at a perfect time as we do all we can to build a more sustainable economy,” said Kitt Johnson, Chair of Cape Light Compact’s Energy Efficiency Committee.
Historically, the award‐winning energy efficiency programs in Massachusetts have consistently saved consumers far more energy dollars than they have cost. The reach of these programs, which offer a host of savings options, including energy audits, equipment rebates and low‐interest financing, will be greatly enhanced by the new plan. With a cost of $1.8 billion and projected energy savings of $6 billion, the net savings to consumers will be over $4 billion for the three‐year period.
The final approved three‐year energy efficiency plan was the result of the Green Communities Act, signed into law by Governor Deval Patrick in 2008, which required the state’s investor‐owned electric and gas utilities (and the Cape Light Compact, which operates efficiency programs on Cape Cod) to prepare energy efficiency plans that secure for their customers all available energy efficiency and demand reduction resources that cost less than new energy supply. Following an exhaustive process led by EEA’s Department of Energy Resources (DOER) and Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office, the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council created by the Act unanimously approved the electric and natural gas utilities’ three‐year efficiency plans last fall, and the utilities filed them with the DPU on October 30, 2009. Following a 90‐day review period, during which it held a series of public and evidentiary hearings, the DPU approved the plan on Jan 29, 2010 that call for electric and gas utilities to invest approximately $2.2 billion in efficiency measures over three years.About Cape Light Compact
Cape Light Compact is a regional inter‐municipal agency authorized by 21 towns on Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard to protect consumer interests, secure competitive electricity prices, and offer green power options for our 200,000 residents. The Compact also provides a variety of activities and programs to support regional energy efficiency, renewable power development, and award‐winning energy education.
From July 2001 through December 2009, Cape Light Compact contributed over $45 million in energy efficiency services to the residents and business of Cape Cod & Martha’s Vineyard. In 2008, Cape Light Compact’s Energy Efficiency Programs saved enough electricity to power 1,600 homes and remove the greenhouse gas emissions from the equivalent of about 1,000 cars.
For more information on Cape Light Compact’s energy efficiency programs visit https://www.capelightcompact.org/ or call 1‐800‐797‐6699. A redesigned and improved web site providing a single point of entry for energy efficiency programs serving all utility customers ‐ https://www.masssave.com/‐ will launch next month.
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