March 4, 2005—The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced two new energy-saving programs. The first one involves utility regulators from six states, and the second one is a voluntary partnership with ten states.
In the first program, the EPA and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) announced the formation of EPA-State Energy Efficiency and Renewable Projects Energy (EERE) between the EPA and utility regulators from six states —Arkansas, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Minnesota, and New Mexico. Utility regulators from these states will work with the EPA to explore ways to reduce the cost of consumer electric and gas bills through cost-effective energy efficiency, renewable energy, and clean distributed generation.
The EPA also launched the Clean Energy-Environment State Partnership Program with 10 states: California, Connecticut, Georgia, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Under the voluntary program, the EPA will assist states as they develop and implement action plans to improve air quality, decrease energy use, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and enhance economic development.
Partner states agree to work with the EPA to develop and implement a state-specific Clean Energy-Environment State Action Plan that contains one or more clean energy-environment goals. The states will receive comprehensive technical assistance package of planning, policy, technical, analytical, and information resources from the EPA, as well as information about successful programs and policies in other states.
