ETO: Low Costs, Real Results…SB 807: Not So Much
Posted on March 29, 2013 by Jeff Bissonnette
Tags, Legislative & Political
Earlier this week, wewrote about SB 807, the bill CUB believes adds nothing to the transparent way that the Energy Trust of Oregon operates but does add unnecessary costs to the independent audits and reviews the ETO is already required to undergo. It got us thinking a bit about the great value that the ETO does deliver to ratepayers.
In the decade that the Energy Trust has been serving utility customers, they have helped the customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural and Cascade Natural Gas save more than $1 billion (yes, that’s with a ‘b’) on their bills. That’s $1 billion that ratepayers and businesses got to keep in their pocket rather than paying higher bills. Not too shabby.
What the Energy Trust really does is buy power by helping to reduce energy usage. Rather than building a big power plant, the ETO brings down energy usage over time at a cost that’s much less than if we had to produce the power or buy it on the wholesale market. Over the last 10 years, the Energy Trust has saved over 400 megawatts, about the size of a regular power plant. That means that’s a power plant we didn’t have to build and one we won’t have to pay to maintain over several decades. In 2011 alone, the ETO saved 46.9 MW at a cost of 2.9 cents per kilowatt hour. That is really remarkable and great value for ratepayers.
ETO’s administrative costs are really low as well. The Oregon Public Utility Commission allows the ETO to spend up to 11 percent of their total revenue on administrative costs. But the ETO is just as penny-pinching as CUB expects the utilities to be. In 2011, they spent only 5 percent of their total revenue on administrative costs. That means most of what they get goes directly to helping customers save money on their electric and natural gas bills. Now, that’s a great deal.
Head on over to the Energy Trust website to find out about everything they do. Dig as deep as you want – you’ll find just about everything about the organization and their work there. A nifty tool they have allows you to get an instant evaluation about your home’s energy usage. Let the ETO help you find ways you can start saving on your energy bill today.
Oh, and if you haven’t had a chance, write your legislators and tell them to vote NO on SB 807. It’s a waste of ratepayers’ money and adds nothing to the accountability and transparency we already get from the Energy Trust.
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03/31/17 | 0 Comments | ETO: Low Costs, Real Results…SB 807: Not So Much