Nation’s largest public utility sets major energy conservation goal

Last week the nation’s largest public utility approved their 2012-2013 budget–with a huge $128 million devoted to energy efficiency projects. Los Angeles Department of Power and Water set a soft target of 15% cumulative energy savings by 2020, increased from a target of 8.5% set last December.

Among the goals outlined in the new budget are the expansion of whole-house weatherization programs for income-qualified residents as well as investments in building efficiency for schools, City facilities and commerical buildings. The utility’s efficiency expenditure to date has totaled $248.76 million, resulting in a savings of 1,007 gigawatt-hours of electricity.

A $128 million cut of the utility’s budget–and $139 million promised for next year’s budget–may sound like a big investment, but LADPW expects that maintaining energy efficiency programs will actually reduce costs in the long run.