Making ends meet for Mainers and the environment

Many Maine families struggle to make ends meet with low incomes. Some companies face higher energy costs doing business in Maine than they might in other regions of the country. We all want state government to be using our tax dollars as efficiently as possible to provide needed services.

The report, “Energy for Maine’s Future: A Call for Leadership,” which we produced in cooperation with the Natural Resources Council of Maine and the Mainewatch Institute, provides a road map for how Maine families, businesses and state government can save significant money on energy bills and at the same time provide a better environment for our children and grandchildren.

The tools exist for energy efficiency and for renewable energy. We need the commitment of state’s leaders to help us use them. As stated in the report, Maine’s State Planning Office in January concluded that per capita residential energy use could be cut 25 percent over the next 10 years through cost-effective investments in efficiency programs. Our New England neighbors such as Massachusetts and Vermont are taking such actions. We fund our electricity efficiency program at one of the lowest levels of any Northeastern state. If we increased our investment by threefold, it is estimated that Maine could save $271 million.

We are all devoting too much of our purchasing power to energy costs. Low-income households in particular bear the highest burden. Although they use less energy than households with higher income, they have to spend a much greater proportion of their income on energy costs. A study by the Economic Opportunity Research Institute notes that households with very low incomes – at or below the federal poverty level – on average devote one-fifth (22 percent) of their annual income on energy bills. Anything we can do to reduce energy costs for Maine people can help them invest that money in other ways to improve their economic security.

Our state’s economy will also benefit from these energy saving and renewable energy initiatives. Because the Northeastern states generally have higher retail energy prices than the national average, we are hurting our competitive position whenever we waste energy to do the same level of work that could be done elsewhere more cheaply. We are also putting Maine at a competitive disadvantage with our New England neighbors because we are not making the energy efficiency improvements that they are making. By investing in our own renewable energy generation, we can support our own economy as well.

These are win-win initiatives for Maine’s families, businesses, government and economy. We are ready to move forward and we expect the next Administration and all of Maine’s leaders to join us.

For a free copy of Energy for Maine’s Future, log on to www.maineenvironment.org or call 800-287-2345.

Lisa Pohlmann is associate director of the Maine Center for Economic Policy.