In a state where the per-capita energy use has stayed essentially flat for more than three decades, California regulators Thursday expanded utility ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs for major private-sector energy utilities. Low Income Energy Efficiency (LIEE) programs along with a one-year pilot program to merge energy and water conservation efforts were approved in separate actions by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

As part of the CPUC directive to have the three major utilities develop a comprehensive strategic long-term plan for energy efficiency which is ongoing, the regulators now have mandated that the statewide plan will address the state’s low-income population and provide direction to the utilities — Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Southern California Edison Co., and San Diego Gas and Electric Co. — on their 2009-2011 LIEE applications.

CPUC action established guidelines for the LIEE to provide cost-effective ways for low-income households to lower their utility bills.

Separately, regulators approved the one-year pilot programs for the same three utilities to develop partnerships on efficiency programs with water agencies, undertaking specific water-saving programs and measuring the results.

“Concurrently, the energy utilities will fund studies necessary to understand more accurately the relationship between water savings and the reduction of energy use, and the extent to which those reductions would vary for different water agencies,” the CPUC said.

A California Energy Commission report has determined that water-related energy use consumes 19% of the state’s electricity, 30% of its natural gas and 88 billion gallons of diesel fuel annually, according to CPUC Commissioner Dian Grueneich, meaning the state needs to “determine whether energy utilities can create cost-effective energy savings by encouraging water conservation.”

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