2012 Energy Efficiency Scorecard Top 10 Also Includes CA, NY, OR, VT, CT, RI, WA, MD, and MN; States Most in Need of Improvement Are NE, LA, MO, KS, AK, SD, WY, WV, ND, and MS.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 3, 2012): States continue to move strongly in 2012

to advance energy efficiency initiatives regardless of which political party
is in control of state legislatures and governors' offices, according to the
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) on the release
today of its sixth annual State Energy Efficiency Scorecard.

Available online at http://aceee.org/sector/state-policy/scorecard, the
ACEEE State Scorecard shows that the top 10 energy efficiency states are
Massachusetts (in its second year atop the rankings), California, New York,
Oregon, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Washington, Maryland, and
Minnesota.

The 10 states most in need of improvement (starting with last) are
Mississippi, North Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska,
Kansas, Missouri, Louisiana, and Nebraska.

The three most improved states are Oklahoma, Montana, and South Carolina.
All three states significantly increased their budgets for electric
efficiency programs in 2011. Oklahoma put in place natural gas efficiency
programs for the first time in 2011, and Montana dramatically increased its
budgets for these programs. Other states making significant progress this
year include Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, all of
which increased budgets for energy efficiency under their statewide energy
savings goals.

ACEEE Executive Director Steven Nadel said: "These findings show that energy
efficiency is being embraced by Republicans and Democrats alike at the state
level. That nonpartisan status is crucial because too many conversations
about U.S. energy policy begin with the false premise that the only way to
safeguard our reliable energy future is to expand our supply. While some
supply investments will be needed, the truth is that step one should always
be energy efficiency, our cheapest, cleanest, and fastest energy resource.
Energy efficiency improvements help businesses, governments, and consumers
meet their needs by using less energy, saving them money, driving investment
across all sectors of the economy, creating much-needed jobs, and reducing
environmental impacts."

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin said smart statewide policies have led to
major improvements for Oklahoma on the ACEEE scorecard.

Gov. Fallin said: "As governor of Oklahoma, making government smaller,
smarter, and more efficient is among my top priorities. Energy inefficiency
wastes natural resources and tax dollars that could otherwise be used for
essential services like education, transportation, and public safety. Thanks
to efficiency programs by our state utilities, state tax incentives for more
energy-efficient construction, and our state plan to achieve 20 percent
energy savings by 2020 among all state agencies and entities, Oklahoma is
one of the most-improved states on this year's ACEEE scorecard. With
innovative efficiency and conservation policies, Oklahoma is leading the way
on energy conservation."

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said: "We are proud to have maintained
the number one spot in the nation because of our continued focus on
innovation and investments in energy efficiency. Our Green Communities Act
is cutting our dependence on imported energy sources, creating jobs and
leading the way to a more sustainable energy future for Massachusetts."

ACEEE Senior Policy Analyst and State Scorecard lead author Ben Foster said:
"We find that more and more states are taking action to improve energy
efficiency and move up in our rankings, and it's no secret why they want to
accomplish that: energy efficiency is a pragmatic and effective strategy for
promoting economic growth, creating jobs, and securing environmental
benefits. The Scorecard serves as a benchmark that encourages states to
continue strengthening their commitment to energy efficiency."

OTHER KEY FINDINGS

* Massachusetts retained the top spot in the State Scorecard rankings for
the second year in a row, having overtaken California last year, based
largely on its continued commitment to energy efficiency under its Green
Communities Act of 2008. Among other things, the Act spurred greater
investments in energy efficiency programs by requiring utilities to save a
large and growing percentage of energy every year through efficiency
measures.

* Annual savings from all customer-funded energy efficiency programs topped
18 million megawatt-hours (MWh) in 2010, a 40 percent increase over a year
earlier. This is roughly equivalent to the amount of electricity the state
of Wyoming uses each year.

* Utility budgets for electric and natural gas efficiency programs rose to
almost $7 billion in 2011, a 27 percent increase over a year earlier. Of
this, $5.9 billion went to electric efficiency programs, with the remaining
$1.1 billion for natural gas programs.

* Nearly half of the states (24) have adopted and adequately funded an
Energy Efficiency Resource Standard (EERS), which sets long-term energy
savings targets and drives investments in utility-sector energy efficiency
programs. The states with the most aggressive savings targets include
Arizona, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island,
and Vermont.

* Ten states have adopted energy efficiency codes for new building
construction that exceed the IECC 2009 or ASHRAE 90.1-2007 codes for
residential and commercial building construction. Two additional states,
Maryland and Illinois, have advanced even further by adopting the most
recent and most stringent code for residential construction, the 2012 IECC.

METHODOLOGY

The State Energy Efficiency Scorecard benchmarks all 50 states and the
District of Columbia according to the policies and programs that encourage
the efficient use of energy in many sectors of the economy. The report aims
to capture the diversity of efforts related to energy efficiency happening
at the state level and to encourage friendly competition among the states to
craft innovative policies and programs that deliver the economic,
environmental, and energy security benefits of efficiency.

The report examines six of the primary policy areas in which states
typically pursue energy efficiency: utility and "public benefits" programs
and policies; transportation policies; building energy codes; combined heat
and power (CHP) policies; state government-led initiatives around energy
efficiency; and appliance and equipment standards. The baseline year against
which ACEEE assessed policy and program changes varies by policy category.
Policy scores are based on policies in place as of September 2012.

ABOUT ACEEE

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy acts as a catalyst to
advance energy efficiency policies, programs, technologies, investments, and
behaviors. For information about ACEEE and its programs, publications, and
conferences, visit www.aceee.org.