Savings goal raised for utilities in state

The Arkansas Public Service Commission issued an order Friday establishing higher energy-efficiency goals for electric and gas utilities in Arkansas.

For 2020-2022, the utility energy savings targets will be 1.2 percent of 2018 baseline sales for electric utilities. The target for natural gas utilities for the same years will be 0.50 percent, the commission said.

The targets, based on a proposal by the Sierra Club, Audubon Arkansas and the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association, are an increase from previous energy-efficiency targets, which had topped out at 1 percent for 2019. That established Arkansas as a leader of energy-efficiency savings in the South, according to a statement from the Sierra Club.

The increased targets will result in about 445 million kilowatt hours of additional energy savings per year in Arkansas, said Glen Hooks of the Sierra Club.