Encouraging energy efficiency: Policies and programs

Book · Thu Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:138803

Successfully overcoming the barriers to higher energy efficiency requires development of policies designed for specific users and locations. Reform of energy pricing, which entails removing subsidies and beginning internalization of externalities, is critical to give technology producers and users proper signals for investment and management decisions. But while a rise in energy prices increases the amount of energy-efficiency improvement that is cost-effective, it does not remove other barriers that deter investment. Minimum efficiency standards or agreements can raise the market floor, and are important because they affect the entire market in the near-term. But they may not raise the celining very much, and do little to push the efficiency frontier. To accomplish these goals, incentives and other market-development strategies are needed. Utility programs in particular can play a key role in pushing energy efficiency beyond the level where users are likely to invest on their own. Policies, programs, and pricing should complement one another. Pricing reform alone will not overcome the many entrenched barriers to higher energy efficiency, but trying to accelerate energy efficiency improvement without addressing energy pricing problems will lead to limited success. Whether tagerting new equipment or management of existing systems, policies must reflect a thorough understanding of the particular system and an awareness of the motivations of the actors. 25 refs.

• OSTI ID: 138803
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
AUTOMOBILES
BUILDING MATERIALS
COMMERCIALIZATION
DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
EASTERN EUROPE
EDUCATION
ENERGY CONSUMPTION
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
FINANCIAL INCENTIVES
FORECASTING
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
MARKET
PRICES
PROCUREMENT
PUBLIC UTILITIES
REGULATIONS
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
RETROFITTING
STANDARDS
SWEDEN
TECHNOLOGY IMPACTS
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS
TRUCKS