DENVER, September 22 — Denver had 63 days over 80°F this summer and 17 days over 90° according to a new report by CoPIRG, the Colorado Public Interest Research Group. The statewide advocacy group highlights that unless the state can identify ways to cool off more efficiently in the summer when energy costs can be at their highest, Coloradans will be paying even higher energy bills to fund the construction of costly new power generation.
“Summer pushes Colorado’s energy-capacity to the limit,” said Aaron Segel, Energy Associate with CoPIRG. “If we don’t invest in energy efficiency as a state, then our growing population will force us to build new, expensive power generation, which is then passed on to all of us with higher energy bills.”
According to the report, 20% of energy use in the summer times is for cooling and ventilating homes and businesses. CoPIRG calculates that if Colorado reduces energy use by 10% in the summer, it can eliminate hundreds of MW of peak power demand. For customers in Xcel’s territory, the largest utility in the state, a 10% decrease would result in peak energy use reduction by 589 MW, the equivalent of a $1 billion coal-fired power plant.
“The quickest, cheapest, and most effective way to reduce energy consumption and save Coloradans money is to use energy more efficiently,” said Segel. “The good news is a number of utilities have clear energy reduction goals and are helping customers afford the energy upgrades to reduce energy use. The bad news is many utilities are not headed in the right direction. Coloradans cannot afford to wait for those utilities to act. We need Colorado to set a statewide energy reduction standard.”
The report advises that Colorado set an energy reduction standard for the state similar to the 5-10% reduction standard currently being undertaken by several utilities in the state, including Xcel Energy, Black Hills Power, and Ft. Collins Utility. Not only will meeting this goal reduce the need for costly new power generation but will also give consumers access to discounted ways to invest in energy efficiency and reduce their energy bills over the long run.
As a means to help consumers identify ways to reduce their energy use, the report details a number of energy efficient appliances and alternative cooling mechanisms that can reduce the need to run costly and energy intensive cooling measures.
“This not only saves those customers money in the long run, it also helps save money for all of us by avoiding the need to construct expensive new power generation,” said Segel.
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