$95 million in energy-efficiency funding approved
The Baltimore Sun, November 12, 2013Maryland regulators approved about $95 million in funding requests Tuesday for energy-efficiency programs run by utilities, including nearly $47 million aimed at Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. customers.
The money is for EmPOWER Maryland, a state effort to reduce electricity use by helping residents and businesses make their properties do more with less. It includes such programs as efficiency check-ups for homes, rebates for purchasing more efficient appliances and incentives to reduce the cost of business improvements.
Maryland ranks among the most aggressive states on energy efficiency, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. But the Maryland Public Interest Research Group warned last week that the state is not on pace to reach its goal of reducing per-capita electricity use by 15 percent no later than 2015, compared with 2007 levels.