Additional Energy Through Conservation

Commentary By Ron Beasley

Now this is the right idea:

Efficiency can help Northwest meet 85% of new electricity demand

The Northwest can meet 85 percent of its new electricity needs over the next 20 years solely through conservation, and do so at half the cost of building power plants, according to the Northwest Power Planning and Conservation Council.

That's a radical concept in an industry that typically meets growing demand by adding new production. Yet by all indications at the state and federal levels, energy efficiency's day has arrived. In the draft of the 20-year energy policy blueprint that the advisory council is slated to vote on today, it's at the top of the region's shopping list.

"This plan is all about energy efficiency," said Tom Eckman, the council's manager of conservation resources. "In the next decade, that's it. That's where the action is."

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The council's sixth power plan foresees regional utilities acquiring up to 1,400 megawatts of energy efficiency in the next five years -- enough to power Seattle and then some -- and 5,800 megawatts by 2030. Over 20 years, that's equivalent to about one quarter of the energy used in the region today, or about 85 percent of the projected demand growth over that time.

About half of those energy savings are residential -- from water heating, insulation, heat pumps and more efficient consumer electronics. Another 40 percent is commercial and industrial, from lighting, heating and more efficient operations.

The council estimates that conservation measures will cost less than half as much as building conventional power plants, and come carbon-free, a big plus as global warming legislation gathers momentum in Congress. The rest of the region's new energy needs could be met primarily by wind farms, geothermal and some investments in gas-fired power plants by individual utilities such as Oregon's largest, Portland General Electric.

Regardless of the utility, achieving the power council's goals will require regional utilities to double or triple their investments in energy efficiency programs -- investments on which they earn no return for shareholders, and which reduce demand for their core product. While that would raise rates in the short term, the council predicts energy bills will go down in the long run as customers use less energy.

Now the Pacific NW has already been busy when it comes to conservation.  I received a cash payment and tax deduction for replacing my old furnace and air conditioner.  I received a rebate for replacing my old electric hot water heater with an efficient gas one.  Tax credits are available for insulation and storm windows.  I could afford the initial purchases but many can't so I assume that much of the emphases will have to be programs for those people in addition to older apartment houses.