In May, PenLight submitted its progress report in meeting its targets for conservation and renewable energy under the Energy Independence Act (EIA).
Adopted by Washington voters in 2006, the EIA enacted conservation and renewable resource requirements for electric utilities. This legislation is commonly referred to as Initiative 937. It requires Washington electric utilities serving 25,000 or more customers to:
- Pursue all cost-effective energy conservation
- Obtain a portion of their electricity from renewable resources
For the conservation requirement, PenLight reported it achieved total energy conservation of 6,827 megawatt-hours in 2018. That’s enough electricity saved to meet the annual power demand of about 500 homes! The report summarizes the energy efficiency savings PenLight achieved through the programs it promoted to its members. Energy-efficiency measures included installation of high-efficiency heat pumps, smart thermostats, heat pump water heaters, and residential and commercial lighting improvements, as well as improvements to commercial building heating and cooling systems and refrigeration controls.
The renewable energy report summarizes the renewable energy resources PenLight acquired to meet its renewable energy target. PenLight used renewable energy credits from regional wind projects, including Harvest Wind, to meet this requirement.
Pen Light is one of 18 Washington electric utilities that falls under the requirements of Initiative 937. It has demonstrated compliance with the EIA’s requirements, which began in 2012. To view PenLight’s EIA compliance report, please visit www.penlight.org/energy-services/power-resources.