The report shows that as homes and businesses across the North West become more energy efficient, it helps the power grid.

Energy-efficient heat pumps, electric water heaters, solar panels, home insulation, smart thermostats and lighting are helping utilities and energy regulators in the Pacific Northwest region better balance the grid, according to a study released this week.

This The Northwest Energy and Environmental Protection Council reviewed the data from the Bonneville Power Administration and regional utilities, including Pacific Power and Portland General Electric, through the Energy Trust of Oregon. The review found growth in energy-efficient technology across these utilities and their partnerships. Energy-efficient technologies help reduce energy demand and allow utilities and regulators to better forecast energy needs to meet future demand.

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council estimates the region will use an average of 160 megawatts less due to energy efficiency in 2023. Half of that will be in the commercial sector, 26% in industrial, 19% in residential and 5% in agriculture.

The council is developing regional energy plans to balance energy demand in the Northwest. In 2021, it developed a plan for the region to achieve at least 750 average megawatts of cost-effective energy efficiency by 2027.

“Overall, we’re moving toward the high end of our goal, which is a good thing because we’re also moving toward the high end of our expectations for how much energy we’re going to need and how much our energy needs are going to grow,” said KC Golden, vice chairman of the Power and Saving Council, who represents Washington. “We need that saved energy to reliably and affordably meet our energy needs in the Northwest.”

As the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy continues, energy regulators and utilities have a monumental task: determining how much renewable energy will be needed to meet future needs.

Electricity use is rising, sometimes because more people are switching from gas to electric in their homes, in the appliances they use and in the cars they drive. It’s also rising because data centers and other high-tech facilities are using more electricity. This shift to electric is starting to strain the power grid because the region can’t add enough renewable energy to meet all the needs, especially during times like a heat wave or a cold snap when energy use is high.

Energy efficiency is the key to achieving sustainability and reducing energy demand.

“It’s cheaper and cleaner,” Golden said. “So we definitely want to focus on getting savings that are cheaper than the energy we would otherwise have to generate at a new plant.”

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council study also analyzed data from the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance and the Energy Trust of Oregon.

Recently, Energy Trust worked with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde to build 24 energy-efficient homes for senior tribal members. The homes included electrical appliances, solar panels, batteries for storing renewable energy, an electric vehicle charger, heat pumps and electric water heaters with a heat pump.

Such technologies help reduce electricity demand and meet energy efficiency goals, while also lowering utility bills for customers, said Hannah Cruz, director of stakeholder and government relations at Energy Trust of Oregon.

Over the past five years, for-profit gas and electric utilities in Oregon have dramatically raised energy rates, with some customers paying nearly 50% more than they did in 2020. That’s causing financial hardship for some. PGE reported a record number of disconnections due to unpaid customer bills earlier this year. Its customers can expect a 10 percent increase next year.

But it will take more than just adding energy-efficient technologies to meet the growing demand for more renewable electricity, Cruz said. It includes adding more renewable energy, such as solar and wind, as well as building more transmission lines to deliver that new power.

“Each of these solutions will have its pros and cons,” she said. “The community needs to be engaged in the energy choices that we all make. To truly achieve these decarbonization goals, every resource needs to be considered, and I’m very happy that energy efficiency is working. But there’s still a long way to go.”