Overview

Whether it is filling up your gas tank or paying to heat your home in the winter, energy costs are increasingly hitting us in the pocketbook.  And what’s worse, we pay more than we have to, because we waste too much energy. 

That waste also causes problems for businesses in Wisconsin, because during times of peak electricity demand we risk maxing out the transmission grid, threatening the reliability of our electricity supply. And on top of that, energy waste has a negative impact on our public health, because the more electricity we use, the more pollution we put into our air and water. 

We can do better. The best, simplest, quickest, cheapest, cleanest way to solve our problems is to be a lot more aggressive on energy efficiency.  Energy efficiency measures provide common sense solutions that save money, enhance electricity reliability, and reduce air and water pollution, thereby protecting public health.

Energy conservation is the cornerstone of a safe, sane energy policy.  It lowers electricity bills directly through cutting home and business electricity use—we use fewer kilowatt-hours to do the same work, so we pay less on our bills. And it also drives down demand and prices for costly fossil fuels like natural gas—which are already putting the squeeze on home and business budgets in Wisconsin summers and winters.

Moreover, by reducing electricity demand, we reduce the need for more power plants, reducing the need for more coal or nuclear power plants.

We have the technology to waste less energy and to save consumers and businesses money on their energy bills. In our homes and businesses sit commonly used appliances—DVD players, lamp fixtures, furnaces and more--that use much more electricity than they need to do the job.

WISPIRG is working to update efficiency standards for these common appliances, thereby saving consumers money and reducing energy waste in Wisconsin.