A new report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), “Can We Just ‘Rely on the Market’ to Provide Energy Efficiency? An Examination of the Role of Private Market Actors in an Era of Electric Utility Restructuring,” examines who should provide energy efficiency services.

The study looked at nine states that were among the earliest to adopt a policy of deregulating electric utilities (Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island). The report’s findings are that electric deregulation had not resulted in private market entities stepping in to replace energy efficiency efforts previously conducted by utility companies.

Over 80% of energy service companies interviewed rated public policy support as crucial for their energy efficiency business. The full report is available on ACEEE’s website at aceee.org/energy/reports.htm.

Publication date: 11/05/2001