by Jbs102308b — October 27, 2008—Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm has signed into law new legislation that sets mandatory energy savings goals for the state’s electric and gas utilities. “This legislation represents a significant achievement for Michigan, which has had no utility energy efficiency resource programs since 1995,” said American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) Utilities Program Director, Dr. Martin Kushler, who lives in Michigan.
The bill (SB213) (enter bill number “213”) contains an energy efficiency resource standard (EERS) that requires utilities to meet specific energy savings goals. The goals start at 0.3% of electricity sales in 2009 and ramp up to an annual electricity savings requirement of 1% of total sales by 2012, and continue at that level each year thereafter (0.75% for natural gas utilities).
Michigan joins seventeen other states that have EERSs, according to an ACEEE fact sheet. The legislative package also includes a renewable portfolio standard (RPS), which ramps up to 10% of total sales by 2015.
The energy efficiency components of this legislation were patterned after the analyses conducted as part of the “Michigan 21st Century Electric Energy Plan,” which was released by the Michigan Public Service Commission in 2007. That plan concluded that energy efficiency of this magnitude would save Michigan ratepayers over $3 billion, and would avoid the need for two additional major base-load power plants.
