Does Efficiency Maine apply a cost-effectiveness test before deciding to spend money on a program?
Yes. By law, all of Efficiency Maine’s main programs are subject to one of two cost-effectiveness tests, described here. Through Fiscal Year (FY) 2009, Efficiency Maine has achieved a benefit-to-cost ratio of nearly 3-to-1. That is, for every qualified dollar spent in 2007, the program has saved Maine consumers $2.99. Some efforts are more difficult to quantify. For example, Efficiency Maine sponsors a regular schedule of technical training for facility managers. The actual energy savings from these programs and energy curricula in schools, to use another example, are difficult to quantify.
