Closing Thoughts: Ian Bowles, Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Ian Bowles, Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs.A lightening rod
Ian Bowles was appointed to head the newly named and reorganized Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs earlier this year. Prior to his post leading energy and environmental policy in the commonwealth he headed MassINC, a Boston-based research institute. In this interview he talks about the ways businesses can lower their energy costs, as well as the controversial revenue decoupling plan, which would allow utilities to recoup revenue lost through the implementation of energy efficiency.
Energy prices are already high, but electric rates for both customers of National Grid and Unitil are expected to go higher. What do you tell business owners when they come to you and say, 'Hey, my electricity prices are through the roof, and I don't know how much longer I can absorb the cost?
I say a couple things. First, most businesses have a lot of options to manage their demand in energy usage. There's a lot of new technology that they can use that will materially lower their energy bills. My second point is that we inherited a system that virtually guarantees high energy prices though its very nature.
We're leaving money on table today by failing to tap into all the energy efficiencies available in our system. It's cheaper for us to meet our energy needs through demand management and energy efficiencies than it is to build new power plants.
Decoupling has become a big issue lately. What does it mean, and what's the impact of the policy on businesses in the state?
Gov. Deval Patrick's and our administration's support for decoupling is conditioned on it providing substantial savings to individuals and businesses. The concept is simple. If you have broadband at home, you are charged a flat fee each month, whether you use it all day, or never use it that month. The charge involved is for infrastructure. In the case of electricity, you pay more for the wires attached to your house if you use more electricity. With the current system, we have created an incentive for utilities to maximum their sales of electricity. It's a perverse incentive, which leads to higher energy prices, and higher emissions. Decoupling would reverse that incentive.
How do you respond to criticism - particularly from groups like the Associated Industries of Massachusetts - that decoupling amounts to corporate welfare for utilities?
I think that AIM appears to have its head in the sand and that they have embraced a position that is not in the interest of their members. They are embracing the status quo when we all understand the status quo leads to higher energy prices.
First of all, our current rate structure promoting maximum energy consumption is antithetical to cutting energy costs. And I think that the risk of creating a potential windfall for utilities is something we understand very well, and we would never support an approach that would have that result.
What are the steps that you think businesses should take to improve energy efficiency?
Oftentimes, there are many things businesses can do to dramatically decrease energy costs. First, they can get a free energy audit from their utility. It's free, and you can do it tomorrow.
Most businesses make substantial decreases in energy load from audits, through simple things like updating lighting. A compact fluorescent bulb uses one quarter of the energy of an incandescent bulb.
Second, businesses can investigate competitive energy supply. As businesses have enough demand, they can use competitive suppliers, like Constellation Energy.
Third, the energy audits can also analyze heating and cooling waste energy. Many businesses have waste heat that they don't use.
Are there any tax incentives or grants available to businesses that invest in clean energy technology like solar panels?
We do have subsidies available for energy efficiencies through the utilities. For solar and renewable technologies there are funds available through the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. Gov. Patrick is working on a major solar rebate program that should be rolling out later this fall.
In the spring it was announced that private developers are required to estimate the greenhouse gases their large-scale projects will produce. Are the guidelines for that policy in place?
We'll be putting that out in a week or two. We went out for public comment in June or July, and we got a lot of terrific comments from the public.
What types of construction are required to estimate their greenhouse gases?
There are four categories. One is projects that require a DEP air permit. Second are those that require a transportation permit, meaning there are a significant number of vehicle trips per day from the job site. Third are those projects that are financed by the commonwealth and fourth are those owned by the commonwealth.
This interview was conducted and edited for length by Christina H. Davis.
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