CUB Fights Back with Oregonian’s Editorial Board on Energy Efficiency

CUB has always argued that efficiency is worth investing in because it helps everyone use less energy, which reduces the cost of consumption both for utilities and their customers. We are proud of what the Energy Trust of Oregon has accomplished in the 12 years they have been contracting with Oregon’s utilities to provide energy efficiency services to customers. So we were surprised when the Oregonian’s editorial board advocated for the elimination of some of these services in a recent editorial, published on August 10th.

Bob Jenks issued a response to the editorial in an Op-Ed piece, published on September 6th. In his op-ed, Bob pointed out that the Oregonian’s editorial appeared to present an ideological view of efficiency investments, as it painted the ETO’s programs as an unnecessary tax. As Bob astutely put it, “…these programs are not a tax on a utility bill; they are attempts by our utilities to procure energy at the least cost. Without these programs, rates would be higher because utilities would have to acquire additional energy, likely at higher prices than existing resources. Usage would also increase and bills would be much higher as a result.”

We are glad to see that the Oregonian saw fit to publish Bob’s reply. Energy efficiency spending is a complex topic and CUB believes that helping consumers understand the mechanisms that govern energy efficiency programs is important. Efficiency is indeed the cheapest resource and is worthy of our support.

Shortly after Bob’s piece was published, we were delighted to see this response from a reader in SW Portland. We hope that Oregon’s utility customers, and the utilities themselves, remain open to the considerable benefits that efficiency programs provide to all of us.

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