skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Iowa Lawmakers Hear Bills to Scale Back Energy-Efficiency Programs

play audio
Play

Thursday, February 15, 2018   

DES MOINES, Iowa — A state Senate bill under consideration would scale back energy efficiency programs offered by utility companies such as home energy audits, benefits for home lighting upgrades and the rebates Iowans receive to install smart thermostats or energy-saving appliances.

Katie Rock, policy associate with the Center for Rural Affairs, said an estimated 20,000 jobs in Iowa are linked to energy efficiency. She noted that Iowa reported 800 new jobs in the solar industry in 2017, a 45 percent increase over the previous year.

She said any additional job gains in the solar industry could be undone by the bills under consideration.

"If you put a solar panel up on your house or your business to help lower costs, they could charge you a fee for that connection,” Rock said. “That's a discouragement to people to do distributed generation of small-scale solar or wind or geothermal or anything."

A 2014 survey showed 97 percent of Iowans support increasing energy efficiency to meet the state's energy needs. Rock said Senate Bill 3093 as amended by the Senate this week would make participation by the state's utility companies in energy-efficiency programs voluntary rather than mandatory.

Those in favor of the legislation say the mandatory requirement that utility companies offer energy efficiency programs amounts to a hidden tax for consumers. But Rock argues that energy efficiency is a resource for people to use in their homes, and much cheaper than coal or gas.

"Every dollar that's invested in energy efficiency results in $2 to $3 in benefits,” she said. “And people need to start thinking about energy efficiency as the other energy source, just like wind and solar."

The Iowa bills mirror the Trump administration's goals included in the 2019 budget proposal to cut renewable energy and energy efficiency programs by 72 percent.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021