Cross posted on EnvironmentNC
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The environmental extremists and other far left organizations are
pushing an alternative to Duke?s Save-A-Watt energy efficiency program.
They ?cleverly? call it NC SAVE$. The most recent op-ed pushing this program appeared in today?s Raleigh News & Observer.

An energy efficiency program, generally, is a program where
electricity customers are forced to pay a hidden fee (i.e. a tax) in
their electricity bills to help fund financial incentive programs.
These financial incentives go to customers that buy energy efficient
goods and services. Basically, consumers pay extra for energy but can
get some money back if they do what some central planners think is the
?right thing? to do.

There?s no question that Duke?s Save-A-Watt program is a complete
joke. It would provide Duke an excessive amount of profit for doing
little. The idea behind the program is consumers not only should have
to pay for the incentive programs but also pay Duke for any lost demand
because less energy is used.

NC SAVE$ uses a third party administrator to run energy efficiency
programs?the administrator doesn?t need to get paid for lost demand.
However, the core problems that exist with Save-A-Watt also exist with
NC SAVE$ (just some of the problems):

  • Energy-efficiency gains come at the expense of overall economic
    efficiency. Consumers pay for the energy-efficiency investments that
    businesses have previously rejected as being an inefficient waste of
    resources.
  • Gains in energy efficiency could be greater absent the incentives.
  • The programs create a disincentive for individuals and businesses
    to invest in energy efficiency on their own (consumers will based
    decisions on the incentives).
  • The programs steer individuals into buying goods and services that
    are less efficient than what would have been purchased (again,
    consumers will make decisions based on the incentives).
  • The poor are unlikely to be able to take advantage of incentives
    yet they are forced to pay for the subsidies used by the wealthy.
  • Consumers will wind up paying extra to compensate an administrator
    that is at best guessing at the effectiveness of the programs and has a
    self-interest to inflate the numbers.
  • There is very little transparency in the process?many key documents are blocked from public inspection.

NC SAVE$ tries to address the problem with the poor by, of course,
charging more hidden taxes to subsidize the poor?s energy use. It won?t
be just the poor that can?t afford to take advantage of these
incentives.

NCSAVE$ also has a very unique problem:

– It would be illegal. There is no authorization for the NC Utilities Commission, through the infamous S.B. 3 or other legislation, to permit a third party administrator to collect electricity taxes and spend them on these programs.

Learn more about energy efficiency programs here.