IN GOP House Votes To Eliminate Energy-Efficiency Program Instituted By GOP Gov. Daniels
Freedumb!!!
Indianas flagship clean-energy program, launched by then-Gov. Mitch Daniels and hailed by environmentalists as a way to cut costs and clean the air, would be scrapped at the end of the year under a bill passed today by the House of Representatives.
The House voted 69-26 to shut down the program that requires all electricity customers to pay a monthly fee to promote energy-efficiency programs. The vote followed two days of debate over whether the program might ever be restored, or if it might die for good.
Since 2012, the state has used the funds to conduct energy audits and weatherization programs and to provide energy-saving light bulbs and other energy-saving programs. The measure also would prohibit the state from forcing utilities to meet efficiency goals. The program had been set up to produce energy savings of 2 percent by 2019, cut air pollution and reduce the need to build additional power plants.
Environmentalists said the program saved enough energy each year to power 64,000 homes. But some critics said the program amounted to executive overreach, because the legislature never approved it or got a chance to set up any reviews. They said it costs $2 to $3 a month for the average homeowner and much more for factories and other big users.
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