Energy efficiency expenditures in cities with municipal-owned utilities

Abstract

In recent years, local governments have taken an increasingly prominent role in the use and promotion of so-called “green” technologies. Cities and counties that own their own utilities have a unique set of opportunities and incentives to involve citizens in “green” initiatives. Some of those governments invest significant levels of resources on energy efficiency programs, others invest a little, and others are yet to initiate “green” initiatives. We examine this issue with data from municipal-owned utilities in cities with populations over 25,000. We test these relationships with Heckman Selection Models and compare the results with those of investor-owned utilities. We find that the decision to initiate energy efficiency programs is associated with state regulations, siting difficulties and the availability of generation units. We also find that expenditure levels to support those programs are associated with the availability of local retail partners, citizens’ ideological orientation, and demand changes.