U.S. Leads the Way in Wasting Energy

Compared to much of the world, the U.S. ranks the highest in wasting energy, according to a recent Forbes guest post written by Tom King, the president of an electric and gas company.

But the Commission on National Energy Efficiency Policy is looking to change that. The bipartisan coalition recently released Energy 2030, a plan outlining "specific, actionable policy to invest, modernize, and educate in order to double U.S. energy productivity by 2030."

The low energy productivity – or the level of output that our economy achieves from the energy we all consume – costs U.S. businesses and households about $130 billion per year.

Cities and states around the U.S. are implementing energy efficient policies that include benchmarking and rebate programs to encourage less energy use.

"New policies that encourage utilities to meet energy efficiency goals are working. Between 2002 and 2011, states without efficiency goals exhibited an average increase in per-capita electricity consumption of 9 percent, while states with efficiency goals had a per-capita increase of only 5 percent."

Source: Forbes