DOMESTIC ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN THE USA
In Britain, they have a policy that helps people cut their fuel bills. It is known as the Energy Efficiency Commitment. This forces utility companies to fund projects to help every install discount price insulation by professional contractors. Up to 60% of the total energy loss in the UK could be saved using this method. That's a lot. No wonder Tony Blair considered this his flagship policy.
By comparison, in some parts of the USA, States have adopted another approach. They provide the rates at which energy is sold by the utilities. If the utilities fund insulation projects, then they can increase their rates to meet the expected shortfall. Thus the people get a rebate to cut their fuel bills, but the fuel bills rise anyway.
This system is currently in California, and might be introduced into New York, Delaware, New Jersey, Wisconsin and Idaho.
Whilst it removes the disincentives to help lower fuel bills - thus cutting company profits -it also leads to higher bills. It sounds like a perverse counter-intuitive method.
Clearly there is something wrong with the USA's methods! If you want people to save energy, then you have hit the polluter in their pocket, not the customer. That is the way forward.
Energy cuts and people being unable to pay their bills cannot be the way forward. American must adopt the UK's method if it is to really help the poor in America.
John Rintelen | 
