The PSC must help get hard-working families off the high-bill treadmill by modernizing energy efficiency policies that will make homes more comfortable, safe and secure.
Guest blog | September 15, 2022
| Energetic efficiency, Energy Justice, Energy policy, Florida
The following editorial is from the Rev. Dr. Russell L. Meyer, executive director of the Florida Council of Churches, responsible for the Florida Interfaith Climate Actions Network. This originally appeared in the Tallahassee Democrat September 4, 2022.
High electricity bills add to the crippling financial burdens that many Floridians are currently facing, caught between historic inflation and higher prices at the pump. As a pastor, I have over time helped more Floridians pay unaffordable electricity bills than any other financial challenge.
Why is it? Simply: an outdated public policy. It’s time to change course and embrace a less expensive, less risky and cleaner energy future. Loving my neighbors in need means both helping them in times of need and ending whatever pinches them. And bad public policy is pinching Floridians hard.
Floridians have some of the highest electricity bills in the country and need help reducing their energy use. Yet our state engages in some of the worst performing electric utilities in the nation when it comes to helping customers reduce their energy use through utility-led energy efficiency programs. .
Outdated energy efficiency policies from the Florida Public Service Commission — the agency that sets energy-saving goals for the state’s largest power companies — are a barrier to common-sense energy solutions that would help everyone, as well as the environment.
Energy efficiency improvements, such as upgrading air conditioning, adding insulation, reglazing windows, or using LED lighting, reduce energy consumption and make homes more comfortable, safe and secure. These upgrades also help reduce overall electricity consumption, which means the utility burns less fossil fuel to generate electricity.
Saving energy would be a big win for customers by reducing their bills, and for the environment by reducing harmful emissions that threaten our health and exacerbate the global climate crisis.
Your electric company is required to provide families and businesses with meaningful, cost-effective energy efficiency programs that help reduce overall electricity consumption. We are supposed to be able to use less energy and save money on electricity bills. Still, Florida’s programs fall woefully short of target.
As one of the highest energy consumers in the country, Florida is nevertheless one of the least energy efficient states. ACEEE’s 2020 Utility Energy Efficiency Scorecard ranked the three largest electric utilities owned by state investors – Tampa Electric Company, Duke Energy Florida and Florida Power & Light – ranked 46th, 48th, and 51st of the nation’s 52 largest utilities in terms of program performance and savings. These ratings are no accident. Public services operate to the extent that public policies allow them to.
The culprit is outdated public policies on setting energy efficiency goals for the state’s largest utilities. The policies were last updated before cell phones became popular nearly 30 years ago. Every state in the country has adopted policies that call for innovative and cost-effective energy solutions – all but Florida.
Utilities readily use outdated policies as an excuse to do as little as possible to save energy for customers. Current policies wrongly reward poor energy conservation performance, and the Public Utilities Commission needs to up its game on smarter energy consumption.
Help could be on the way. The Commission is finally reviewing these outdated policies. Commissioners are appointed by the Governor, and we need them to help get hard-working families off the high-bill treadmill by modernizing energy efficiency policies.
We are called to care wisely for God’s creation and for our neighbours. Increasing energy efficiency is the fastest, cheapest and cleanest way to meet customer energy demand and reduce emissions that harm our natural environment and local communities. By using energy smarter, we can provide energy savings for families while protecting our air, water and land for future generations.