Efficiency Vermont Wins Award For Excellence In Government
The Institute
for Government Innovation at Harvard University’s John
F. Kennedy School of Government announced that Efficiency
Vermont — the nation’s first independent, ratepayer-funded
energy efficiency utility — has won the “Oscar” of
government awards.
 Efficiency
Vermont is one of five winners of the prestigious Innovations in
American Government Award and will receive a $100,000 grant to support
replication of its creative efforts.
In its first three years, the program generated over 99,000 megawatt
hours of electricity savings - more power than three hydroelectric
dams on Vermont's Winooski River produce in a year, and more than
Vermont's second largest city consumes in an entire year. For energy
efficiency measures installed in the first three years, Efficiency
Vermont is also saving 109,000 gallons of propane, 29 million cubic
feet of gas, 123,000 gallons of oil, and 50 million gallons of water
annually.
Previously Vermont, like many other states, had set up a fundamental
business conflict by requiring its power companies to administer
energy efficiency programs designed to help customers use less of
their product. With 22 programs, each run by a different power company,
Vermont's system was a model of inefficiency for years. By 1999,
the power companies' investment in efficiency programs was at an
all-time low.
That year, Vermont's Public Service Board contracted with the private,
nonprofit Vermont Energy Investment Corporation to deliver energy
efficiency services under the name Efficiency Vermont. An independent
organization with no role in selling energy, Efficiency Vermont
has the statewide responsibility to deliver efficiency services,
and one in five Vermont electricity customers has already participated.
Those services include: rebates for buying energy efficient products
and equipment, energy saving services for low-income Vermonters,
and technical and financial assistance for the construction of energy-efficient
homes and commercial buildings.
Gail Christopher, Executive Director of the Institute for Government
Innovation, says Efficiency Vermont proves that government can enact
real structural change in energy conservation. "Instead of
trying to fix a system that wasn't working," she said, "Vermont
ventured into uncharted territory and found a new solution that
has had a substantial and positive impact on Vermonters' lives."
The economic impact has also been notable. One example: the Ethan
Allen factory in Orleans teamed up with Efficiency Vermont to install
a series of computer-controlled devices to reduce energy consumption
by the plant's sawdust-collection system. Ethan Allen estimates
these new efficiency measures will save the company $128,000 a year,
and help keep the plan open and more than 1,000 workers employed
in Essex and Orleans counties.
"By creating an independent entity whose sole mission is energy
efficiency, Vermont has empowered its citizens to secure their energy
future," said Patricia McGinnis, President and CEO of the Council
for Excellence in Government. "And this small state is lighting
the way to a brighter future for those far beyond its borders. Already
other states and countries — Maine, Brazil, Australia —
are looking to Efficiency Vermont as a model for effective energy
savings."
Energy Efficiency Utility was selected from among fifteen finalists
and nearly 1,000 applicants. For 16 years, the Innovations in American
Government Award has recognized quality and responsiveness at all
levels of government and has fostered the replication of innovative
approaches to the challenges facing government.
The award - a program of the Institute for Government Innovation
at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government - is
administered in partnership with the Council for Excellence in Government.
The program was founded by the Ford Foundation to identify and promote
excellence and creativity in the public sector.
The Institute for Government Innovation at Harvard University's
John F. Kennedy School of Government, established through an endowment
from the Ford Foundation, fosters excellence in governments throughout
the world. It serves as a global hub for public-sector innovators
through networks, conferences and research.
The Council
for Excellence in Government is a national, nonprofit, nonpartisan
organization whose mission is to improve government performance
by strengthening results-oriented management and creative leadership
in the public sector, and to build understanding by focusing public
discussion on government's role and responsibilities.
For more information on the Innovations in American Government
program and this year’s winners, please visit the Institute
for Government Innovation web site (http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/).
Contact Information:
The Council for Excellence in Government
Sarah Howe
showe@excelgov.org
202-530-3270
Website: http://www.excelgov.org/
Energy Efficiency Utility
Barry Lampke
BLampke@veic.org
888-921-5990 ext. 1033
Website: http://www.efficiencyvermont.org/
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