BLOG POST
Puerto Rico sets ambitious new energy efficiency targets
By Rachel Gold, Utilities Program Manager
Puerto Rico’s Governor Ricardo Rosselló is expected to soon sign legislation that sets ambitious energy-saving targets, joining a number of states that are pushing energy efficiency alongside renewables in response to climate change and resilience challenges.
This new legislation sets the territory on a path to save 30% of electricity by 2040 and to meet 100% of its supply with renewable energy by 2050. It also supports other building blocks for energy efficiency, including a lead-by-example requirement in government buildings, efficiency’s inclusion in future utility system planning, and performance-based regulation that aligns utility incentives with expansion of efficiency and other clean resources.
When implemented, this legislation will represent a massive step forward for the territory, where energy efficiency programs have lagged behind other parts of the United States, and where renewables represented only 2% of the territory’s electricity supply in Fiscal Year 2017. As of the 2017 ACEEE State Scorecard, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), the territory’s utility, did not offer meaningful efficiency programs to its customers, and it lacked regulatory mechanisms to incentivize efficiency investments…
To continue reading the blog post, visit: http://www2.aceee.org/e/310911/rico-sets-ambitious-new-energy/7tx13h/332454310?h=122eKwqPhPpzOSjUryvi6oJM7OYt4voGz_RAI4RNP0I
About ACEEE: The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy acts as a catalyst to advance energy efficiency policies, programs, technologies, investments, and behaviors. For information about ACEEE and its programs, publications, and conferences, visit aceee.org