State approves new three-year energy efficiency plan

The Department of Public Utilities on Jan. 30 approved a new statewide energy efficiency plan for 2019 through 2021, which sets goals for energy savings as well as budgets for the electric and gas utilities and energy efficiency service providers that administer the state’s Mass Save programs.

A highlight of the plan is a new set of incentive programs for converting from petroleum and propane energy sources to more efficient and environmentally friendly fuels and technologies, such as air-source heat pumps. The plan promotes strategic electrification of buildings and the industrial and transportation sectors, as well as consumer energy demand reduction programs.

The plan also outlines a new municipal and community engagement strategy that provides new tools for utility companies and energy efficiency program administrators to work with communities on efficiency measures. One example is ongoing support for municipal efforts to transition to LED streetlights.

The three-year plan’s budget is $2.8 billion. The Baker administration estimates that the plan’s strategies will deliver $8.56 billion in benefits to customers, at a return of roughly $3 for every $1 that ratepayers invest in the efficiency measures.

The three-year energy efficiency plans are required under the 2008 Green Communities Act and developed by the Energy Efficiency Advisory Council in collaboration with Mass Save program administrators.

The advisory council, chaired by the commissioner of the Department of Energy Resources, also tracks progress toward plan goals. Massachusetts municipalities are represented on the council by Rebecca Davis, deputy director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council.

Massachusetts has been ranked number one in the country for energy efficiency for the past eight years, based on a scorecard developed by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

For more information about the plan, docketed as DPU 18-110 through 18-119, visit www.mass.gov/guides/energy-efficiency-three-year-plans-orders-and-guidelines.