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WGA Goes All the Way
The Western Governors’ Association’s (WGA) Clean and Diversified Energy Advisory Committee (CDEAC) has released its latest task force report on energy efficiency for the region. The report suggests widespread adoption of best practice energy-efficiency policies and programs, monitored and enforced at the state level, with an overall goal of reducing electricity consumption 20 percent by 2020.
The WGA commissioned this report in February 2005 in response to the rapid increase in both population and energy consumption among western states. According to the report, increasing energy efficiency is the “cleanest, cheapest, least risky, and least controversial energy resource” and represents a “win-win strategy” for consumers, businesses and utilities throughout the region.
“This report illustrates the power and flexibility state governments have to determine their own energy future,” said Harry Misuriello, the Alliance to Save Energy’s representative to the CDEAC. In a move that is becoming increasingly popular among many state legislatures, the CDEAC has suggested a course of action removed from federal government involvement. The energy-efficiency provisions of the task force report – appliance standards, building code standards, tax credits, and utility DSM programs – all focus on activities that can be decided and funded at the state level.
The Western Governors’ Association is an independent, nonprofit organization representing the governors of 18 states and 3 U.S.-Flag islands in the Pacific. The Association addresses and develops policies and programs pertaining to the environment, economic development, natural resources, and state governance.
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