Wednesday, October 7 is Energy Efficiency Day—a nationwide celebration of a simple yet transformative principle:

The cheapest, cleanest energy unit is the one you don’t use.

The Energy Efficiency Alliance (EEA) is at the front lines of educational advocacy supporting policies, programs, and investments that build on this principle and expand access to the many benefits of energy efficiency—including savings, jobs, and health and comfort—across Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Today, I am asking for your financial support to sustain and propel our work forward.

Every day, families and businesses across our region feel the squeeze of rising utility costs. Between 2015 and 2023, average August electric bills in Pennsylvania surged by 24.6%. Over this past scorching summer, New Jersey residents paid 26% more than the national average for electricity.  Looking ahead, regional grid operator PJM projects peak summer demand will surge by roughly 74,000 MW by 2040. These increases affect everyone—but especially ordinary households and businesses.

Energy efficiency is the single fastest, most cost-effective tool we have to push back. And the evidence shows that it’s working:

• New Jersey energy efficiency programs generated $998 million in energy bill savings between 2021 and 2024.
• Pennsylvania’s Act 129 energy efficiency programs generate $1.44 in energy benefits for every dollar invested.

The benefits of energy efficiency don’t stop with consumer relief:

• Energy efficiency is the biggest energy sector job creator in both Pennsylvania (76,289 employed) and New Jersey (40,756 employed).
• Both traditional and active energy efficiency programs create capacity on our current grid, which means less need for expensive, slow infrastructure build-out.
• Energy efficiency remains one of our most important tools for fighting climate change and building climate resilience.

The Energy Efficiency Alliance champions these benefits to decision-makers and expands access to them across both our states. Across the past year, we’ve:

• Hosted a series of heat pump summits in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where we provided vital training on this energy-efficient technology to over 100 HVAC professionals.
• Robustly promoted the benefits of both traditional and “active” energy efficiency programs—including distributed energy resources and virtual power plants—to policymakers currently facing an onslaught of new data center demand.
• Provided regular online education programming attended by legislators, regulators, contractors, and other EE stakeholders on timely issues like energy affordability, energy data access, municipal energy efficiency, and more.
• At press conferences, the NJ and PA Governor’s offices, industry meetings, and elsewhere, pushed for common-sense reforms at PJM Interconnection to improve ratepayer representation, tackle affordability, and get more renewables onto the grid faster.
• Used our growing PA Contractor Network to share rebate updates, training opportunities, and business intel with the contractors delivering “boots-on-the-ground” energy efficiency in PA homes, businesses, municipal buildings, factories, and elsewhere.
• Continued to spotlight the local benefits of energy efficiency through our EnergyEfficiencyStories.org website, with a special campaign focused on federally funded projects in Western Pennsylvania.
• In concert with our sister 501(c)6 trade association, engaged robustly with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to defend, improve, and expand energy efficiency programs offered under Act 129 and the Trienniums, including pre-weatherization programs that increase EE access for lower-income homeowners.

EEA is the unified voice championing energy efficiency policy, expanding market opportunities, and connecting clean energy businesses with policymakers. But our independent advocacy depends on the generosity of supporters like you.

On this Energy Efficiency Day, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to sustain the Energy Efficiency Alliance.