PSEG Group's chief executive, Ralph Izzo, persists in his belief that an electric utility can be something different from what it's been before. Whether he succeeds in persuading New Jersey regulators and policymakers that his newest idea deserves backing, who knows? But it's pretty inviting at first blush.
Don't leave it to me, the homeowner, to get around to replacing my refrigerator and my air conditioner, my light bulbs and everything else with more efficient ones, Izzo proposes. Make it the utility's job, the utility's business.
Our correspondent Mary Powers reports that in a news conference today after PSEG's annual meeting, Izzo said it's time to view energy efficiency as an opportunity for utility investors. If the utility becomes the investor in energy consumption devices, with financial incentives to produce as much efficiency as possible, it could change the whole efficiency dynamic.
It could possibly also provide more certainty of outcome. And hack away at the array of confusing tax breaks for consumers who buy various kinds of more-efficient appliances and take other conservation measures. The energy system management that utilities do would get a huge new dimension.
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