The Energy Policy Act of 2005 is the first bill of its kind in more than a decade. It’s a broad energy bill that places increased production of energy and greater efficiency into national energy policy. What’s the status?
After four years of working on the bill, the House of Representatives passed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 on July 28 in a vote of 275-156. The Senate voted to approve the bill by a margin of 74-26 on July 29. President Bush signed the bill on August 8. What impact does the bill have on Colorado Springs Utilities customers?
There aren't immediate or short-term impacts for our customers. However, the bill changes long-term energy policy for the entire country, which could lead to long-term financial and environmental benefits for our customers. Will the bill affect customer utility bills?
Because natural gas prices are driven by supply and demand, the increased supply that will be created as a result of this bill will drive natural gas costs down. Electricity bills will also be affected by decreased use. The bill addresses efficiency standards for appliances. By using less electricity to operate everyday household appliances, customer bills will be kept down. Also, more efficient consumer use of electricity could result in the delay of the necessity for new electric generation plants (lowering rates that support the building of new utility infrastructure such as power plants). Note: Because new efficiency standards and increased natural gas production will be years in the making, cost benefits will likely not be realized by utility customers for some time. What is the daylight savings time change about?
The bill includes changing daylight savings time to begin the second Sunday in March and last until November for the purpose of saving energy. The concept of daylight savings time is to match the time that we're active to the time that the sun is out. More daylight in the evening while customers are home means less energy is needed for lighting. It also means that people plan more activities during daylight and are home less, reducing the use of small appliances, like televisions. While the amounts of energy saved per household are small, the savings for the community adds up. Although we haven't yet estimated the savings for Colorado Springs, national studies show that we trim the entire country's electric usage by about one percent each day with daylight savings time. Is renewable energy addressed in the bill?
The bill promotes the development of new technology and alternative energy sources and contains nearly $14.6 billion in tax credits for a range companies that produce coal, natural gas, oil, electricity and renewable energy. Springs Utilities continues to work with Colorado Amendment 37 to implement broader uses of renewable energy. | 
