Today In Mississippi

Study shows Americans' efforts to save energy are working

By Michael Callahan
Electric Power Associations of Mississippi Executive Vice President/CEO

If you’re among the millions of Americans who are taking steps to reduce their energy use, congratulations. You are making a difference, according to a major report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).

The report shows it takes half as much energy today to create $1 of economic output as it did in 1970.

That’s stunning news in a time of skyrocketing fuel prices. And the nation seems to be unaware of the role that energy efficiency has played in satisfying our growing energy demands, according to the ACEEE.

The report also notes that although efficiency is a proven resource, it remains underdeveloped. It estimates that cost-effective but underutilized energy-efficiency technologies could cut U.S. energy consumption by an additional 25 to 30 percent in the next 25 years.

Other report findings:

• Annual investments in energy-efficiency technologies currently support 1.6 million U.S. jobs. The $300 invested in energy efficiency in 2004 was three times the amount invested in traditional energy infrastructure.

• Investments in energy-efficiency technologies are estimated in 2004 to have generated about the equivalent of the energy required to operate 40 mid-sized coal-fired or nuclear power plants.

• Energy-efficiency investments in the buildings sector of the U.S. economy represented nearly 60 percent of the total energy-efficiency investments in 2004. Of these investments, nearly half were made in energy-efficient appliances and electronics.

The nation has only begun to scratch the surface of the potential savings that more investment in energy-efficiency technologies could provide, according to ACEEE Research Associate Karen Ehrhardt-Martinez, lead author of the report.

Clearly, energy efficiency is part of the solution to cutting the nation’s energy consumption. Electric power associations in Mississippi have promoted wise energy use on these pages since the publication began in 1948.

Time has changed most things since that first issue, but not all. Electric power associations are still all about supplying affordable electricity to our members. In the beginning, that included working aggressively to increase our membership rolls, to further distribute the costs of building rural electric cooperatives. The goal was lower power bills for all members.

As the nation’s utilities seek solutions to meeting consumers’ growing demands for reliable energy, your electric power association promotes energy efficiency while continuing to improve its own operational efficiencies.

According to the ACEEE, more Americans need to understand the impact their own choices have on energy consumption, and take steps to learn more about energy-efficient practices and technologies. They do make a significant difference in our overall energy use and, with technologies yet to come, should have an even greater impact in the future.

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Electric Power Associations of Mississippi
P.O. Box 3300 Ridgeland, Mississippi 39158-3300 phone 601.605.8600 fax 601.605.8601