In the jargon-filled world of government, some abbreviations are greener than others.
One of the greenest is “RPS.” It stands for Renewable Portfolio Standard.
Yeah, we know: Could that name be any blander? Probably not. The definition, though, should hook you. An RPS is, simply put, a mandate that requires utilities to get a certain percentage of their electricity from both renewable sources (geothermal, wind, etc.) and energy efficiency measures.
In other words, an RPS is a rule that makes utilities a little more green.
Most states, though not all, have passed such rules, and some standards are more stringent than others. All of them call for making green energy a substantial (if still small) part of a utility’s portfolio.
What’s that have to do with Team Earth?
Well, like we said, there are two parts of the equation with RPS. The first part, getting energy from renewable sources, is mostly up to the utilities. But the second, energy efficiency, is all about the utilities’ customers. It takes collective action to make meaningful changes to home energy use.
The good news is that when utility customers are presented with such options, they take action.
According to the Michigan utility Consumers Energy, more than 170,000 residential customers and 8,500 business customers have taken at least one step toward energy efficiency. The menu of actions included the installation of high-efficiency furnaces, energy audits, and the installation of CFLs (offered at a discount by local retailers).
As a result, customers will save enough electricity to serve almost 18,000 homes.
Granted, that’s a sliver of the homes that will be served by Consumers’ planned coal-fired plant.
But it shows that when people are given the chance to take smart actions – actions that will save them money and play a small role in helping to fight climate change – they’ll do so.
You don’t have to be a part of a utility program to use less energy. Read more about the steps you can take, and sign up today to take action.
(Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nualabugeye/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
