A group of nearly 50 US organizations, including Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), General Electric (NYSE: GE) and the US Green Building Council sent a letter to President Obama this week asking for his Administration to adopt the goal of giving every household and business access to timely information on their energy use.
Studies and experience show that when people have access to direct
feedback on their electricity use they can achieve substantial energy
savings through simple behavioral changes. In the U.S., for example, a
15% reduction in electricity consumption by 2020 represents greenhouse
gas savings equivalent to 35 million cars off the road, saving consumers
$46 billion on energy bills or $360 per customer per year.
The letter initiative was headed by The Climate Group which hosted a joint event with Google in Washington D.C to provide a platform for discussing the benefits of energy information for consumers, and how to realize them.
Carol Browner, director of the White House office of energy and climate change, attended the event stating that the administration supports the group’s initiative.
"The issue of the consumer’s right to know is important in this administration … and we certainly share your commitment to giving consumers access to (information on) real-time energy use," Browner said, according to a Reuters report.
The event and letter build on recommendations included in the Federal
Communications Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Plan, which was
released last month. Goal 6 of the plan stated that ‘every American
should be able to use broadband to track and manage their real-time
energy consumption’ and draws substantially from the findings of The
Climate Group’s SMART 2020 Report.
Amy Davidsen, Executive Director of The Climate Group in the U.S., said,
“Government leadership on consumer access to energy information will
not only help consumers save money and energy, but will unlock a new
domestic market for products and services that help consumers reduce
their energy use. America’s technology and utility companies will have
the opportunity to innovate and compete for a share of the smart grid
market, which we estimate to be worth $12.6 billion globally. It would
be common sense policy that will not only save consumers 15% on their
energy bills but be good for the planet, good for jobs and good for the
economy.”
Along with The Climate Group and Google, 45 groups signed the letter to Obama including AT&T (NYSE: T), Best Buy (NYSE: BB), Dow (NYSE: DOW), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ), Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), Johnson Controls, Inc (NYSE: JCI), the Pew Centre on Global Climate Change, and Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR).
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