New England has always been one of the most progressive parts of the country when it comes to energy efficiency, except for one state in particular – New Hampshire. Unlike its surrounding states, New Hampshire has always lagged a little bit behind when it comes to updating its energy policies in order to protect the environment and reduce the state's power bills. Well now this is all likely to change, thanks to the efforts of state officials.
Meredith Hatfield, New Hampshire's director of the Office of Energy and Planning as well as the chairwoman of the NH Energy Advisory Council, is currently working on the development of a new 10-year plan that would greatly improve energy efficiency benchmarks throughout the entire state. While speaking at a public hearing in Portsmouth on Tuesday, June 24, Hatfield gave a few broad ideas of the changes that are going to be implemented over the next decade.
What Hatfield strongly recommends for New Hampshire is the creation of an Energy Efficiency Resource Standard, a number that all utilities will have to meet. New Hampshire is currently the only state in New England that lacks one of these standards, something that Hatfield wants to fix. She also wants to create a "green bank", which would function as a public trust used to fund green energy products across the entire state.
According to studies cited by Hatfield at the hearing, New Hampshire currently loses out on over $330 million in energy savings and economic growth each year, something that she believes can change with the help of other committed government officials.
No matter where you live in the country, energy efficiency is important both for the environment and your bank account. Schedule an energy audit with Alban Inspections today to see how you can improve your home's power consumption habits!