On Thursday, March 27, Governor Mike Pence (R) of Indiana allowed the Energizing Indiana program to come to an end. A new law, which was first proposed in the state Senate over a month ago, targeted the program by cutting off its funding, which had stemmed from a small surcharge on each household's monthly utility payment. Critics of Energizing Indiana said that it was a waste of taxpayer money, while proponents believed it was essential to the future health of the entire state.

Governor Pence said in a statement that he could not sign the bill either way because it was deficient on all sides. While he wants Indiana to become more energy-efficient, he said that the current program was not the way to do so, because it placed an unfair financial burden on each taxpayer. Alternately, he also stated that he was disappointed the state legislature could not come up with a new way to reduce the state's power consumption, something he says will be very important during the 2015 legislative session.

"I could not sign this bill because it does away with a worthwhile energy efficiency program. I could not veto this bill because doing so would increase the cost of utilities for Hoosier ratepayers and make Indiana less competitive by denying relief to large electricity consumers, including our state's manufacturing base," Pence said in his statement.

As Governor Pence has said in the past, energy efficiency is a very crucial part of the country's future. If you live in Maryland and want to improve your home energy efficiency, have your residence inspected today by Alban Inspections.