Energy efficiency provides Ohio with a tremendous opportunity to improve its energy productivity, cut consumer costs, create jobs, and decrease the amount of money it sends to other states to import energy.
Bipartisan legislation passed in 2008 that includes an energy efficiency portfolio standard has pushed the state to tap into those opportunities. Senate Bill 221 calls for annual energy efficiency targets, requiring electric distribution utilities to save an increasing amount of energy each year, beginning with 0.3% of total electricity sales in 2009 and ramping up to a 2% annual savings in 2019 and thereafter.
The success of the energy efficiency standard is already evident. According to a memo prepared on behalf of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Ohio Environmental Council (OEC), the state's existing energy efficiency standard has saved businesses and consumers $100 million in utility costs, cut energy waste and created more than 4,000 new jobs in Ohio. Job growth, according to the report, is on target to increase to 32,300 by 2025 as the energy efficiency standard is fully implemented. And Ohio's energy bill is expected to be reduced by $3.3 billion by 2025.
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