Every dollar invested in energy efficiency generates $7 back into Connecticut”™s economy, according to a report by the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Board.
The 2017 Programs and Operations Report states that the energy efficiency improvements made last year will save Connecticut homeowners, renters, cities and towns, and businesses of all sizes more than $841 million over the life of those measures.
“Last year”™s results prove that energy efficiency works for Connecticut,” said Taren O”™Connor, Energy Efficiency Board chair. “The savings are used by residents to support household expenses. It helps businesses and municipalities pay local salaries and be more competitive, and overall, it contributes to the quality of life in our state.”
However, O”™Connor said, the state budget passed last fall diverted approximately 33 percent of the customer-funded programs, which she said “will have harmful consequences for future economic growth and job creation in Connecticut.”
The state”™s energy efficiency programs and services are supported by customers through a small charge on electric and natural gas bills, marketed under the statewide brand Energize Connecticut, and provided by Eversource, United Illuminating, Southern Connecticut Gas, and Connecticut Natural Gas.
According to the report, in 2017 those programs and services:
- Generated 34,000 jobs;
- Delivered a $1.4 billion increase to the gross state product;
- Completed more than 94,000 residential energy efficiency projects and rebates, including approximately 28,000 projects for lower-income families;
- Performed energy-efficient improvements to nearly 27,000 multifamily units across the state;
- Partnered with more than 6,000 businesses, non-profit organizations, and public sector customers, making their buildings more energy efficient and their organizations more sustainable, profitable and competitive;
- Avoided greenhouse gas emissions of nearly three million tons for the life of the measures (about the same as removing approximately 654,000 cars from the road for a year); and
- Delivered lifetime energy savings of 4.2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, 97.8 million ccf (one ccf equals 100 cubic feet) of natural gas, and 29.3 million gallons of fuel oil and propane.
