With the lights dimmed and the stage set, CHPS was ready to make its return to the Bay State after a brief hiatus. With a recent training in Maynard, NE-CHPS took back its place at center stage.

It’s been 20 years since utility companies, policymakers and efficiency leaders got together to form what would become “the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships” (NEEP). In 2016, as we navigate a period of rapid change in the energy landscape, NEEP looks back on the maturation of efficiency and how far the nation, the region and the industry have come in embracing efficiency as a resource that can help enable the energy systems of the future: clean, smart, responsive, resilient.

In a move that positioned Maryland as a national leader on energy efficiency, last June the Maryland Public Service Commission issued an Order extending the state’s successful EmPOWER Maryland programs while also directing program administrators to develop comprehensive gas efficiency programs, and reach for savings at two percent of retail sales for the electric programs.

Since the beginning, partnerships with state agencies have been central to NEEP’s work. We provide guidance and acquire insights from states, help them connect the dots and leverage resources, and facilitate shared learning and progress through working groups and collaborative processes. It was a pleasure to talk with agency representatives from some of our states to learn about what they've valued most in their relationship with NEEP over the years.

Aside from energy efficiency being the least-cost energy resource, a common argument used to support programs is that they create jobs and keep ratepayer dollars in-state. This argument seems at least intuitively correct, since it takes bodies in the field — or perhaps more appropriately, in attics and basements — to install energy savings measures.

But if energy efficiency creates so many jobs, where is the evidence?