Maintaining energy conservation programs in the brave new world of electricity deregulation

Deregulation of the electric industry poses environmental threats as well as opportunities. This. industry is now a major source of air pollution in the U.S., i.e. acid rain producing SOX and NOX emissions and greenhouse gas emissions in the form of carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels. Hence, there is more at stake than finding cheap power. Energy engineers and professionals need to realize that saving dollars is not the same thing as conserving energy. We have a moral obligation to identify strategies to keep our energy conservation and efficiency programs alive and well in a deregulated electric market. We also need to join the larger debate and insist on policies which will provide the proper incentives and conditions to encourage efficiency, as well as clean "green" power generation, in order to protect the environment and serve the public interest.