As the new home of ConnPIRG's environmental work, Environment Connecticut can be contacted regarding this article.
Connecticut's electricity
grid could have trouble keeping up with peak demand this summer. One sure way
to reduce energy use, save millions of dollars and take pressure off the grid
is for the General Assembly to enact a law setting efficiency standards for
eight common commercial and residential products and appliances.
Two committees and the Senate
have approved the measure. The House should add its support.
Affected products include
transformers, traffic signals, illuminated exit signs, air-conditioning equipment,
commercial freezers and clothes washers, and some portable lamps.
Ideally, the federal government
ought to upgrade its national standard. In 1987, Congress approved the National
Appliance Energy Conservation Act, but there have been no updates in federal
standards in more than a decade, despite huge advances in technology.
States are seizing the initiative.
Maryland recently joined
California in adopting standards for products not covered by federal law. Similar
proposals are pending in every New England statehouse. The recommended standards
were drafted by the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership, a nonprofit advocacy
group that works closely with industry and government.
Products that meet the tougher
than federal standards will cost more, but savings on electricity bills will
more than offset the increase.
This is a painless way to
save money on bills, cut energy use and reduce air pollution by curtailing harmful
emissions from power plants.
