Executive Summary

ACEEE modeled eight broad opportunities to reduce energy waste by deploying energy efficiency and demand flexibility throughout the economy. Using Energy Innovation’s Energy Policy Simulator (EPS), ACEEE found that between now and 2050 these could significantly lower energy bills, help manage rising peak electricity demand, and strengthen the economy and the environment:
• Families and businesses avoid about $4.8 trillion in wasted energy and related costs cumulatively, almost $31,000 per household.
• Energy costs savings average $215 billion a year.
• Electric efficiency measures reduce growing peak demand by 20% on average; the 208-GW average reduction is equivalent to the output of more than 400 large power plants.
• The U.S. economy nets an additional 1 million jobs per year on average.
• The U.S. avoids 22 billion metric tons of climate pollution cumulatively.
• Thousands of tons of small particulates and other air pollution are eliminated, resulting in ~278,000 fewer premature deaths cumulatively.