October 31, 2006
Clean Energy Ballot Initiative Expected to Save $1.1 Billion on Electric Bills by 2025
Initiative Would Reduce Global Warming Emissions and Bring More Jobs to Washington
WASHINGTON—A new analysis of the long-term effects of Washington State's Initiative 937, which requires larger utility companies to invest in renewable energy and adopt low-cost energy conservation practices, finds that the ballot measure is expected to result in $1.13 billion in cumulative savings on consumer electricity bills in Washington by 2025.
The new study from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) shows that the measure would cut electricity costs by 2.9 percent compared to an increased reliance on fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas.
"Voting 'yes' on the Clean Energy Initiative will pay off over time with lower electric bills, economic growth, and a cleaner environment for our children and our grandchildren," said report co-author Jeff Deyette, a clean energy researcher at UCS.
The Washington Clean Energy Initiative: Effects of I-937 on Consumers, Jobs, and the Economy, projects that passage of I-937 would likely save the average Washington household nearly $1.50 per month on electricity from 2008-2025. By 2025, monthly savings would approach $4 (in 2005 dollars).
The report also projects that the initiative will create 2,000 new jobs in manufacturing, construction, operation, maintenance and other industries by 2025, 2.6 times the employment opportunities that fossil fuel-based energy generation would provide.
I-937 would bring $138 million in additional income to Washington and increase the state gross product by $148 million. Investments in renewable energy would bring $2.9 billion in new capital to the state. Rural landowners would receive $30 million in income from wind power leases while local communities would reap $167 million in new property taxes and payments from renewable energy.
"This report confirms what we've been saying all along: I-937 will bring cleaner and cheaper energy to the people, farms and businesses of this state," said Yes! on I-937 campaign director Chris McCullough. "It's the right answer for Washington."
I-937 also promises environmental benefits to the state. By 2025, I-937 would prevent 4.6 million metric tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere – the equivalent of taking 750,000 cars off the road. I-937 will also reduce harmful air, water and land problems that would otherwise occur during the extraction, transportation, and burning of fossil fuels.
The report uses projections from industry experts, the U.S Department of Energy, and the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.
The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading U.S. science-based nonprofit organization working for a healthy environment and a safer world. Founded in 1969, UCS is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and also has offices in Berkeley, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
