Proposal To Protect Energy Efficiency Fund

State Senator Eileen Daily is expected to introduce a bill that would help protect money for energy efficiency, rather than use it to shore up the state budget. WNPR’s Nancy Cohen reports.

 

When lawmakers were searching for funds to securitize state bonds last year, they focused on two revenue streams paid by electric ratepayers.

 

The first is the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund. Customers pay a small surcharge that helps pay for energy audits and rebates for homes and businesses. That way, buildings become more energy efficient and electric and heating bills are reduced.

 

The second source of revenue is known as the ‘stranded costs’ fee, a charge on electric bills designed to help utilities defray the cost of deregulation.

 

Jodi Rell and the legislature approved a measure that diverts 35% of the Energy Efficiency Fund for the next eight years to securitize state bonding. If that isn’t enough money, the state would then tap into the stranded costs fees. But Senator Eileen Daily, co-chair of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee wants to change which fund is raided first.

 

“What we are looking at doing is reversing the language so that the first amount comes from the stranded costs and the second amount comes from the Energy Fund. Our tampering with those funds sends very bad message to the industry”

 

Daily says the Energy Efficiency Fund helps employ the technicians and small businesses that perform the energy audits. It also reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Daily says the state hasn’t sold the revenue bonds yet so it’s still possible to reduce the amount of money diverted from energy efficiency.

 

For WNPR I’m Nancy Cohen.