by Jason Plautz
E&E News
Arizona state regulators voted this week to strip $50 million from the state’s largest utility for energy efficiency programs, with one official comparing the budget to a “bloated Christmas tree of incentives.”
The move is the latest in a Republican shift on energy efficiency spending. The Trump administration has eliminated or scaled back a number of programs designed to help homes and businesses use less energy — including, this week, “zero emissions” building standards — while congressional Republicans are moving to nix state and federal efficiency rules for appliances.
“Energy addition is the only way we’ll have enough electricity to lower prices and power AI in the U.S.,” said [Energy Sec. Chris Wright] last weekend on Fox News.
A network of conservative groups, including the Heartland Institute and the Energy and Environment Legal Institute, this week touted the efficiency cuts and removal of carbon-reduction grants as a “shift away from politicized spending toward cost-effective energy innovation,” part of a broader commendation of the administration’s energy agenda.
