Louisiana’s utility regulators, the Louisiana Public Service Commission, voted in late January to approve creation of the first state-wide, independent, energy efficiency program in the Southeast U.S. The program will have a mission to reduce energy usage and energy bills for both homes and businesses across the state. Measures can include things like insulating buildings, sealing leaky ductwork, and upgrading lighting.
Louisiana residents used more electricity per-capita than any other state, in 2022. Louisiana ranked 46th in ACEEE’s State Energy Efficiency Scorecard, a fact frequently cited during the commission hearing. 25% of residential efficiency investments will target low-income households and renters.
The Commission plans to hire an experience third-party, statewide administrator to manage the program. The new program is set to begin in 2026, and will be available to utility customers at most of the utilities regulated by the Commission. One exception is Entergy New Orleans which is regulated by the City Council, and has its own existing program. The state’s two largest utilities opposed the measure, Entergy and Cleco.
State efficiency advocates hope the new program will allow the state to leverage hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds, and reduce fossil fuel power generation in the state.
More information is available here.
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