As Americans, it can feel like our country is more polarized than ever—especially this Earth Day. But there’s good news, too. There are still policies for preserving our economy and our planet that attract support from every political party.
A leader among those policies? Energy efficiency.
Energy efficiency protects our climate, our lungs, and our pocketbooks. It’s a common-sense energy approach that consistently attracts broad bipartisan support. Let’s unpack just a few of its benefits:
Energy Efficiency Slashes Utility Bills
With the cost of living going up across the country, energy efficiency stands out as a common-sense approach to cutting household and business costs. The most recent phase of Pennsylvania’s flagship energy efficiency law, Act 129, has generated $1.44 of energy benefits (such as bill savings and avoided maintenance) for every dollar spent on energy efficiency projects. New Jersey’s energy efficiency programs resulted in billions of dollars in energy savings in 2023 alone. The Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP) projected that energy efficiency standards for appliances finalized in August 2024 would cut the average household’s annual utility bills by $107 annually, while the EPA found that homeowners can cut 15% of heating and cooling costs with basic air sealing and insulation measures.
Energy Efficiency Creates Jobs
The energy efficiency industry is an employment powerhouse, representing the majority of energy sector jobs in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. According to E4TheFuture and the Building Performance Association’s annual “Energy Efficiency Jobs in America” report, the energy efficiency industry supports 72,913 jobs in Pennsylvania and 38,267 jobs in New Jersey. An overwhelming number of these jobs—over 90% in both states—are tied to companies with fewer than 100 employees. These are local jobs that cannot be outsourced, with representation in 100% of all counties across both states.
Energy Efficiency Ensures Grid Reliability
Energy efficiency investments reduce strain on the electric grid, saving money and helping operators keep the lights on even through high-demand events like heat waves. Managing peak demand will only become more important—and more challenging—as increased deployment of data centers increases U.S. load growth. Through energy efficiency improvements enacted by Act 129, Pennsylvania’s major electric companies saved over 430 megawatts of peak demand from June 2021 through January 2025.
Energy Efficiency Prevents Premature Deaths
It sounds dramatic, but it’s true: energy efficiency saves lives. Though clean energy deployment is rapidly becoming much cheaper and much more common, the majority of electricity generated in the U.S. is still generated by burning fossil fuels—a process that profoundly affects air quality and human health in surrounding communities. One major study found that energy-saving building retrofits could permanently slash U.S. emissions for multiple air pollutants—including NOX, a lung irritant that aggravates asthma, and fine particulate matter, which can cause heart attacks, lung damage, and premature death. The same study projected that intensive building retrofits avoid 6600 premature deaths per year across the U.S.
Energy Efficiency Protects the Climate
If you, like the majority of Americans, are worried about climate change, then take a closer look at energy efficiency—it remains one of the most cost-effective tools at our disposal for reducing climate-warming emissions. The International Energy Agency estimates that energy efficiency improvements could deliver over a third of all global CO2 emission reductions needed to reach net zero by 2050. The Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program has helped commercial buildings and industrial plants avoid nearly 2.7 billion metric tons of emissions since 1992. The second Triennium of energy efficiency programs in New Jersey is projected to reduce the Garden State’s annual greenhouse gas emissions by 1.5 million metric tons.
The Future of Energy Efficiency in Our States
The Energy Efficiency Alliance, a 501(c)3 educational nonprofit, is dedicated to championing efficiency as the foundation of a clean, just, and resilient energy economy in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and beyond. Our companion 501(c)6 trade organization, the Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance (KEEA) and the Energy Efficiency Alliance of New Jersey (EEA-NJ), represents over 70 member firms doing on-the-ground energy efficiency work in our states.
Interested in supporting the Energy Efficiency Alliance? Join our newsletter list and consider making a tax-deductible contribution supporting our educational efforts.
Interested in joining KEEA or EEA-NJ as a member firm? Visit our sister trade organization’s membership benefits page to learn more about joining.