About	Legislation	News	Legislators	Contact	Links

An Act to Secure Maine's Energy Future

Speaker Pingree has presented LD 886, An Act to Secure Maine's Energy Future. This Legislation would create an efficiency fund to assist people who heat with oil, propane and kerosene as well as consolidate the existing efficiency programs that are scattered around state government into a ‘one-stop-shop’ for consumers.

This legislation was developed after Pingree's service on the Heat and Energy Emergency Taskforce that met through the summer and fall of 2008. Pingree’s legislation is a bold, comprehensive and timely effort to confront the problems that 80 percent of Maine homes and businesses experienced in the summer of 2008 when heating oil approached $4.50 a gallon. Last summer we witnessed what decades of complacency towards conservation and efficiency leads to. The time for action has come.

One of the most important and urgent priorities for the Legislature this session is to reduce energy costs for Maine families and businesses. Maine’s heavy dependence on heating oil and our old, inefficient buildings make us vulnerable to volatile fuel prices, which will inevitably rise again. Our economic security depends on action today.

We also have an opportunity to put thousands of Mainers to work making our homes and businesses energy efficient. This will create good jobs in Maine’s emerging clean energy sector for builders, insulation installers, electricians, energy auditors, and construction workers.

Maine needs a long-term strategy to maximize cost-effective energy efficiency and weatherization in our homes and businesses and foster business growth. Federal stimulus funding will be important, but will only last for two years.

LD 886, An Act to Secure Maine’s Energy Future would establish an efficiency and weatherization strategy comprised of four basic components:

1. Creating efficiency programs that help people reduce their whole energy bill, including heating fuels as well as electricity. Efficiency Maine is currently funded by systems benefits charges on Natural Gas and Electricity to help businesses and consumers offset investments to improve efficiency. There is no assistance available for the more that 80% of businesses and middle income households in Maine currently relying on heating oil.
   
2. Consolidate Maine’s efficiency programs so that programs are consumer-oriented, effective, well-managed, flexible, and performance-driven. We want every dollar to be spent wisely and in a coordinated way that provides benefits to Maine people.
   
3. Create an ongoing and sustainable revenue stream dedicated to supporting efficiency and weatherization efforts, complementing short-term federal stimulus funds.
   
4. Create a skilled energy efficiency workforce and put people to work in Maine.