Energy services are evolving today, and more utilities are relying on energy efficiency, conservation, and renewable energy such as solar and wind to meet future load growth. In addition, Washington State mandates require electric utilities to pursue cost-effective energy-efficiency in their service territories. PenLight has long been in the forefront of this effort. Thousands of homes and businesses have participated in our programs to reduce waste of power resources. PenLight is committed to continue this effort in order to keep our power affordable and reliable.
The Northwest Power and Conservation Council was created in 1981 by congress to develop strategic energy plans for NW utilities every five years. The current 7th Power Plan provides a road map to continue meeting our energy requirements for the Pacific Northwest as well as our communities on the Gig Harbor and Key Peninsulas. As part of our strategic planning, we developed a 10-year comprehensive conservation potential plan that is updated every two years.
In the Northwest, energy efficiency is the second largest resource, saving consumers about $3.75 billion per year on electricity bills, and lowering annual carbon dioxide emissions by 22.2 million tons per year.