Your utility says it’s smart to use less energy. Business-wise, selling less of something is an economic concept that’s hard to wrap your head around. Isn’t the premise of free enterprise to encourage consumers to use more? Why would a business ask us to use less? What’s the catch?
Public utilities aren’t for-profit enterprises. “Public utilities set their rates to cover only maintenance, supply and operational expenses,” said Larry Blaufus, a senior customer accounts and energy services manager for Clark Public Utilities. This unfamiliar fiscal approach makes a utility’s “use less” goal seem peculiar.
Clark Public Utilities was formed by a vote of the people in 1938 and is a municipal corporation organized under the laws of the state of Washington. Every customer is an owner of the utility and, by electing utility board members, customers have a say in its operation.
The Washington State Constitution reserves to the people the right to approve or reject certain state laws through the process of initiative or referendum. Initiative Measure 937, which voters passed in 2006, set targets for the use of renewable resources by electric utilities that serve more than 25,000 people, as well as targets for energy conservation.
State law requires utilities to pursue all cost-effective conservation. Clark Public Utilities has had a focus on energy conservation for decades, knowing that energy saved is energy that doesn’t need to be purchased or generated, which saves customers money.
“To help us meet the targets set by the state, we encourage customers to find ways to use their electricity in more efficient ways,” said Blaufus. “We’ve done this by offering the community incentives, refunds, rebates on energy-efficient products and buildings, as well as investing in alternative energy.”
Savings bring power
According to Blaufus, the approach works. Clark Public Utility customers saved nearly 66,000 megawatts during 2014. Between 2010 and 2015, several large industrial projects were completed, saving a total of 307 million megawatts. That’s enough electricity to power almost 23,000 homes.
Increasingly, energy-efficient homes help lower the average. As Northwest building codes focus on energy efficiency, all new buildings and homes use less electricity than ones built earlier. The yearly average national consumption of electricity by a residential customer during 2013 was 10,908 kilowatt-hours, or just over 900 kilowatt-hours a month. In Clark County, that average is a bit higher, but decreasing as homeowners and property managers invest in increased energy efficiency.
Saving energy is good for the environment too. By encouraging its customers to use less energy, the utility doesn’t need to bring new power generating stations online.
Saving power lowers greenhouse gas emissions and helps slow the effects of climate change. The Environmental Protection Agency calculates the average home releases about 1,300 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour. Because our region depends so largely on hydroelectric power generation, we’re lucky to see far fewer pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent per megawatt-hour.
“Encouraging energy savings helps reduce our overhead costs, reduces our fossil fuel dependency, lowers overall greenhouse emissions and saves our customers money,” Blaufus said. “It’s a win all around for customers of this public utility.”
Energy Adviser is written by Clark Public Utilities. Send questions to ecod@clarkpud.com or to Energy Adviser, c/o Clark Public Utilities, P.O. Box 8900, Vancouver, WA 98668.
