Energy Efficiency Businesses and Other Advocates Support Strengthening the Commonwealth’s Vital Energy Efficiency Programs
Contact: Katie Thompson, Communications Manager, EEA-NJ & KEEA
(215) 792-2101 or kthompson@keealliance.org
May 5, 2025 – The Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance (KEEA), a trade organization representing 70+ energy efficiency firms that do business in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, will present testimony tomorrow on the structure, benefits, and potential improvements to Act 129 at a hearing of the PA Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee. Legislative amendments to Act 129 are anticipated to be considered before the Committee as part of Governor Shapiro’s “Lightning Plan” to advance Pennsylvania’s clean energy economy.
The hearing will begin at 9 am on Tuesday, May 6, taking place in Hearing Room 1 of the General Assembly’s North Office Building in Harrisburg. Livestreaming will also be available at this link.
Act 129, Pennsylvania’s flagship energy efficiency law, has been helping consumers and businesses cut energy costs through efficiency measures since 2008. It does so by directing Pennsylvania’s major electric utilities to implement energy efficiency and conservation programs within their service territories. KEEA Government Affairs Director Brad Barkdoll will deliver testimony on KEEA members’ behalf, hitting on several important reasons Act 129 should be preserved and strengthened through this update legislation, including:
- Act 129 programs generate $1.44 in energy benefits for each dollar spent.
- By May 2026, the programs operated under Act 129 will have saved over 20 million megawatt-hours—enough energy to power 1.9 million homes for a year.
- From June 2021 through January 2025, Pennsylvania’s major electric utilities saved over 430 megawatt-hours of peak demand electricity—the most expensive and difficult power to put on the grid.
- Act 129 supports Pennsylvania’s energy efficiency industry, which employs over 72,900 workers across the state.
- The monthly surcharge electric utilities pass on to ratepayers to fund Act 129 programs is minimal, ranging from under 1% of their bill for most residential consumers to about 1.8% for large industrial ratepayers.
Legislative amendments have already been introduced in the House, and KEEA supports several proposed improvements to Act 129 in House Bill 505, including:
- Increasing the allowed spending of electric utilities on Act 129 programs—currently capped at 2% of each utility’s annual revenues from 2006—to match modern economic conditions.
- Increasing utility incentives (which are currently minimal) for overachieving in reaching energy savings goals.
- Updating Act 129’s “Total Resource Cost” (TRC) test, which helps regulators determine which energy-saving measures are cost-effective enough to support under Act 129, to measure payoff over the measure’s full installed life rather than the current cap of 15 years.
You can read Brad’s prepared testimony here. KEEA also issued a press release late last month when House Bill 505 and other legislation included in Governor Shapiro’s Lightning Plan were first introduced—read it here.
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About KEEA & EEA-NJ
The Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance (KEEA) and the Energy Efficiency Alliance of New Jersey (EEA-NJ) are a joint 501(c)6 trade organization representing 70+ member businesses and collaborating organizations across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Their shared mission is to champion energy efficiency as the foundation of a clean, just, and resilient energy economy. KEEA and EEA-NJ envision a world in which energy efficiency anchors all efforts to meet our ongoing energy needs, improve health and comfort, promote energy equity, and protect our climate.