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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Corp. Comm. Dramatically Expands Energy Efficiency Efforts

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Friday, December 18, 2009   

PHOENIX - As part of approving a new rate increase for Arizona Public Service (APS), state regulators have adopted their first-ever statewide energy efficiency standards. Arizona's Corporation Commissioners say the new rules will result in lower energy costs in the long run.

Sandy Bahr, director of the Sierra Club's Grand Canyon Chapter, says the rules will help homes, businesses and schools reduce both their consumption and their bills.

"Energy efficiency measures are cost-effective. It's really the cheapest thing that you can do. It reduces the load and can reduce the need for new power plants, which are very expensive and usually pollute."

For its part, APS has agreed to make energy-saving improvements such as adding insulation to 1,000 homes and 100 schools in the coming year.

Kris Mayes, Arizona Corporation Commission chair, says one innovation will allow homeowners to finance improvements like high-efficiency air conditioning out of the savings those upgrades produce.

"This will help the average Arizona Public Service customer pay for these energy-efficiency measures over time on their bill by paying for them from the energy savings they achieve through these programs."

The new standards also require utilities to achieve annual energy savings of 20 percent by the year 2020. Otherwise, the state is projected to need another 32 natural gas power plants, which Mayes calls unacceptable.

"There is no way we can build 32 new natural gas plants in Arizona to meet our growth. So, we have to bend the curve back on energy usage."

Efficiency advocates have a name for energy that customers don't have to produce and use - "negawatt," and say it is the cheapest form of electricity of all.




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