Efficiency programs have proven track record

To the editor:

Your May 13 story on NV Energy's resource plan mischaracterized the situation as a choice between saving electricity or money.

On the contrary, NV Energy's energy efficiency programs have a proven track record of saving more money than they cost to run and reducing energy waste through improvements that trim household utility bills and business operating costs.

That's why it's disappointing that NV Energy is backing away from efficiency funding levels it proposed last July. Many homes and buildings in Nevada -- even newer ones -- lack proper insulation and have leaky windows and inefficient heating and cooling systems. Yet the utility has proposed 53 percent reductions in its residential lighting program and 44 percent reductions in its high-efficiency air-conditioning program.

Funding for the construction of efficient new homes and commercial buildings is also on the chopping block, at 66 percent and 51 percent respectively. All told, funding cuts to efficiency programs total $154 million that would have saved ratepayers $236 million on energy bills.

As an architect, I see firsthand how a home or building design affects operating costs. A few weeks back, Habitat for Humanity unveiled two ultra energy-efficient homes designed in cooperation between PGAL and the U.S. Green Building Council of Nevada. Using off-the-shelf technology and making minor tweaks to standard building methods, those homes were made to be twice as energy efficient as comparable production homes. It got me wondering: Why can't all homes and businesses be built like that?

When the next construction boom comes along and demand for power shoots up, we might all be wondering the same thing.

Rick Van Diepen

LAS VEGAS

The writer is senior associate at PGAL Architects in Las Vegas; president of the U.S. Green Building Council Nevada chapter; and a board member of Nevadans for Clean and Reliable Energy.