Connecticut climbed two spots to number six in this year’s installment of a scorecard published by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, with Massachusetts retaining its top ranking followed by California and New York.
Washington, D.C.-based ACEEE assesses a range of policies in producing the scorecard. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick credited the Bay State’s Green Communities Act of 2008 as elevating its energy efficiency profile.
On Oct. 5, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will outline his own platform of energy initiatives in advance of Connecticut’s 2013 legislative session, according to the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, with CBIA co-sponsoring an energy conference in Cromwell where Malloy is slated to speak.
Oregon and Vermont rounded out the top five on the ACEEE study, with Connecticut a notch ahead of Rhode Island. Oklahoma made the biggest gain on the survey, after putting in place natural gas efficiency programs for the first time last year.
Mississippi ranked last on the study.
“Too many conversations about U.S. energy policy begin with the false premise that the only way to safeguard our reliable energy future is to expand our supply,” said Steven Nadel, executive director of ACEEE. “While some supply investments will be needed, the truth is that step one should always be energy efficiency, our cheapest, cleanest, and fastest energy resource.”
The report examines six policy areas through which states typically pursue energy efficiency:
- utility and “public benefits” programs and policies;
- transportation policies;
- building energy codes;
- combined heat and power policies;
- state government-led initiatives around energy efficiency; and
- appliance and equipment standards.
