California Utilities to Pump Billions into Energy-Efficiency

The California Public Utilities Commission recently approved a budget that will funnel $3.1 billion to energy-efficiency efforts statewide over the next three years—an initiative that the commission says is the largest such program in American history.

The budget will fund, among other things, the California Statewide Program for Residential Energy Efficiency (CalSPREE), which aims to reduce energy consumption by 20% through retrofits of 130,000 homes by 2012.

Other funding initiatives included are: $260 million for retrofits of public sector buildings by 64 local government entities; $175 million for programs aimed at achieving net-zero energy in residential and commercial buildings; $100 million for education and training programs for white- and blue-collar professionals in the energy-efficiency industry; and consumer rebate programs for households purchasing energy-efficient products.

– Andrea Ward