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CAPE LIGHT COMPACT FILES HISTORIC THREE-YEAR ENERGY EFFICIENCY PLAN

The Cape Light Compact, represented by BCK, Law P. C., and Massachusetts’ gas and electric utility program administrators filed three-year plans on October 30, 2009 to deliver energy efficiency services to residents and businesses that are expected to net more than $4 billion in energy savings statewide. If the historic plans are approved, Massachusetts will assume a leading national role among states delivering integrated, effective and measurable savings through energy efficiency programs to their citizens.

The Cape Light Compact is a regional municipal aggregator made up of all 21 towns of Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard, and Barnstable and Dukes counties. BCK has served as counsel to the Compact since its inception in the late 1990’s. The purpose of the Compact is to represent and protect consumer interests in a restructured utility industry. As authorized by each town, the Compact operates the regional energy efficiency program and works with the combined buying power of the region's 197,000 electric consumers to negotiate for lower cost electricity and other public benefits.

The three-year energy efficiency plans were drafted in response to the Green Communities Act, landmark energy legislation signed into law in July of 2008. The Act calls for the Commonwealth’s energy efficiency program administrators to develop a statewide plan to meet energy demand by first investing in energy efficiency and demand reduction before purchasing new energy supply.

The Compact, in collaboration with the other program administrators, has endeavored to substantially increase the level of savings derived from energy efficiency activities at customer homes and businesses. The plans call for aggregate savings of over 2.5 million megawatt-hours of electricity and roughly 45 million therms of natural gas over the three year period. As a direct result of these savings, CO2 emissions will be reduced by approximately 9,759,374 short tons. This achievement is comparable to the environmental benefits achieved by taking approximately 1,622,000 cars off the road, by annually sequestering carbon in a pine forest roughly the size of 38% of the entire state, or by recycling 3.0 million tons of waste instead of sending it to the landfill. The plans also call for the creation of 4,000 jobs in the clean energy sector in the Commonwealth. With a total cost of $1.8 billion and projected energy savings of $6 billion, the net savings to consumers will be over $4 billion for the three-year period.

BCK worked closely with the Compact to prepare its unique plan and is currently representing the Compact in the proceedings of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities. The plans are scheduled to be reviewed and approved by the Department on or before January 31, 2010 for implementation in the period from 2010 through December 2012.

Cape Light Compact’s plan and the statewide energy efficiency plan are available at www.capelightcompact.org.