Who pays for Efficiency Maine programs?
The bulk of Efficiency Maine’s funding to date has come from what’s called the “systems benefit charge,” which is included in all electric bills and calculated on a per-kilowatt hour consumed basis. The systems benefit charge for a typical Maine home amounts to about $8 a year. The revenues flow to EM via the Conservation Program Fund. Beginning on July 1, 2009, Efficiency Maine also began receiving funding from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Programs (ARRA), which can be used for efficiency programs geared to reducing the use of not only electricity, but other fuels as well.
