The 2018 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard
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- Publisher(s)/Producter(s):
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy
The 2018 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard, now in its 12th edition, ranks states on their policy and program efforts, not only assessing performance but also documenting best practices and recognizing leadership. The report captures the latest policy developments and state efforts to save energy and highlights opportunities and policy tools available to governors, state legislators, and regulators.
Energy efficiency remains the nation’s third-largest electricity resource, employing 2.25 million Americans and typically providing the lowest-cost way to meet customers’ energy needs. Other benefits include improving air and water quality, strengthening grid resilience, promoting equity, and improving health and comfort. By calling attention to recent policy and programmatic successes, the Scorecard seeks to help states, utilities, and businesses realize all these benefits.
The Scorecard is divided into eight chapters. In Chapter 1, the authors discuss the methodology for scoring states (including changes made this year), present the overall results of the analysis, and provide several strategies states can use to improve their energy efficiency. Chapter 1 also highlights the leading states, most-improved states, and policy trends revealed by the rankings. The next six chapters examine the policy areas in which states typically pursue energy efficiency:
- Utility and public benefits programs and policies
- Transportation policies
- Building energy codes and compliance
- Combined heat and power (CHP) policies
- State government–led initiatives around energy efficiency
- Appliance and equipment standards
The final chapter summarizes major policy highlights and setbacks occurring since the release of the last Scorecard and describes data limitations the authors encountered in their research. The authors also discuss developing trends in energy efficiency they hope to address with new metrics in future Scorecards.