Environmental groups are urging PUC to set higher conservation goals for the state's private utilities
“I got triple-pane windows. I got a metal roof. I got extra insulation blown in. I got a SEER 27 air conditioning and heating system,” said Nazor, who is also a Sierra Club board member. “Because I lived in a house with no air conditioning for six years in Austin, I know what it is like. And, yes, climate change is real. I know it’s real, so I’m trying to plan for it.”
The fact Nazor could get rebates from Austin Energy is not happenstance. Nor is the repair work electric utilities do to help low-income people winterize their homes. These measures — which make the electric grid in Texas more efficient and less costly — are embedded in goals the PUC sets for utilities.
The goals the PUC has set out for the eight private electric utilities in the state are “very, very, very, very modest,” Reed said after the meeting. Here are some actions that environment groups say could help fix the grid and bring the cost of electricity down in Texas: Energy savings goals — which cover investment in energy-savings programs — should be quadrupled. Right now, the goal is set at .25% of residential and commercial consumption. To make an impact, that goal should be raised to 1% of residential and commercial consumption by 2025.