EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION PROVISIONS A CORNERSTONE OF THE BIPARTISAN ENERGY BILL, DOMENICI SAYS

June 14, 2005
02:58 PM

Washington, D.C. – Senate Energy & Natural Resources Chairman Pete V. Domenici today praised the efficiency and conservation standards in the Senate energy bill, calling those standards a cornerstone of his bipartisan bill.

Domenici prepared the following statement for today’s press conference on energy savings from efficiency and conservation provisions in S. 10 held at 11:30 a.m. in SD-366. Senators Byron Dorgan (ND) and Ken Salazar (CO) spoke along with representatives of the Alliance to Save Energy, the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy and representatives from the New York state government. 

Chairman Domenici’s statement:

“The efficiency measures in the Senate energy bill conserve 30 percent more energy than similar measure in previous energy bills debated by this Congress over the last four years. This bill conserves a third more energy than the House bill does. We conserve energy equivalent to 170 power plants by 2020 and we do it in partnership with the manufacturing sector. We save energy without hurt manufacturers, small businesses or our economy.

Efficiency is a cornerstone of the bipartisan energy bill. If we want to lower energy prices, we can’t just produce more energy, we have to save more energy. To do that, we created new efficiency standards. We asked manufacturers to build appliances that do more with less energy. They’ve told us they can do that. Those appliances include big commercial air conditioners, washers, refrigerators, icemakers and freezers – products that have been big energy guzzlers in the past. The kind of American ingenuity you see in the efficiency title is the kind of can-do spirit that will help us solve our energy challenges

These new standards will help us save so much energy that we have shaved 50,000 MW from peak electricity use by 2020, according to the ACEEE. The ASE estimates the provisions in our bill will trim between 10 and 40 percent from the anticipated growth in energy demand over the next several years.

That’s an accomplishment I’m proud of. These savings coupled with increased production of energies from  wind, solar, geothermal, nuclear, clean coal and natural gas will make a real difference in the price consumers pay to light, heat and cool their homes and offices. Our ethanol, hydrogen and fuel-savings provisions will ease the cost of gasoline over the next several years. Together, these components compromise a comprehensive energy bill that creates jobs, expands our economy and eases the burden of business and consumers.”