Lake Country Power
The Energy Conservation and Optimization (ECO) Act, a bill many years in the making, will modernize the Minnesotaâs Conservation Improvement Program (CIP). Enacted in 2007, CIP requires all gas and electric utilities to spend a portion of their revenues on energy conservation. The program has delivered real savings to Minnesotans on their energy bills through the adoption of technologies like LED lighting and Energy Star® rated appliances, providing more than $6 billion in net benefits to the state and supporting over 45,000 local jobs in every corner of Minnesota.
However, the program has become outdated and needs to be adapted to embrace beneficial and impactful new technologies and evolving trends. The ECO Act would modernize and expand CIP to recognize and respond to emerging technologies and consumer behaviors and demands. ECO would also include load management and efficient fuel-switching, expanding CIPâs ability to support local job opportunit
Statewide View: Minnesota Chamber members are needed to insist on meaningful climate action
From the column: The damage businesses do by supporting the chamber’s lobbying and rhetoric far outweighs the benefits of their individual sustainability commitments.
Written By:
Sam Grant | ×
I write on behalf of climate-justice leaders and clean-energy advocates calling on businesses to hold the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce accountable for its obstruction of Minnesota’s clean-energy transition. While many prominent chamber members have pledged to eliminate their carbon footprints by 2050, the chamber itself has helped to block key clean-energy proposals in our state over the past five years.