February 23, 2007—The nation’s investor- and municipally-owned electric utilities, in another indication of energy efficiency’s growing value to the US economy, have joined with environmental and energy efficiency organizations to recommend significantly higher efficiency standards for the estimated 41 million distribution transformers now serving the electricity system.
Once in place following a gradual phase-in, the new transformers are expected to save 26 billion kilowatt hours annually, roughly equivalent to the electricity used by 2.3 million US households in 2005. That will reduce annual emissions from electric power plants by 15 million metric tons, about equal to the average annual emissions of 2.7 million automobiles.
The proposal for higher efficiency standards marks the first-ever agreement on appliance standards from America ‘s investor-owned and public-power electric utilities and major energy-efficiency and environmental groups, according to the Alliance to Save Energy.
The recommendations were made jointly to the US Department of Energy by the Edison Electric Institute and the American Public Power Association, representing the utilities, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, the Alliance to Save Energy, Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP), and the Appliance Standards Awareness Project.
The announcement was made during the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ (NARUC) Annual Winter Committee Meetings.
For more information, visit the Alliance to Save Energy Web site.
