INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Two giant corporations which sell
products that save electricity have weighed in to try to rescue an
Indiana program designed to promote energy efficiency, pitting them
against other big businesses who want Gov. Mike Pence to kill it.
Honeywell
and Ingersoll Rand, which both have operations in Indiana, warned in a
joint statement this week that it would "set the state back years," if
Pence signs legislation passed by the Republican-dominated legislature
to halt the program called Energizing Indiana at year’s end.
Ingersoll
Rand sells energy-saving heating and air conditioning systems while
Honeywell makes products that help industrial motors power up and down
more efficiently. Both benefit from rebates under the Indiana program.
Those
rebates and other incentives are financed through fees utility
customers pay. The Indiana Manufacturers Association, which represents
some 1,400 companies, including big steelmakers such as ArcelorMittal
and Nucor Steel, lobbied to kill the program. The industry group said
the program has increased its members’ electricity bills by 1 to 3
percent.
The fight between the different businesses has landed in
the lap of Pence, a Republican champion of business, who must decide by
March 27 whether to sign or veto the legislation, or it will
automatically become law.
Pence said last Friday after lawmakers
ended their session that he’ll "very carefully consider the importance
of energy efficiency programs and conservation" that he called "an
important aspect" of Indiana’s energy strategy.
"But we’re also
going to take a careful look at the overall energy costs in the state of
Indiana and then we’ll try and make the best decision we can based on
balancing those interests," he said.
Although the program’s
website says it’s saved enough electricity in the past two years to
power nearly 79,000 Indiana homes, opponents argued during the
legislative session that it has proven too costly and that industrial
users were getting few benefits under the program.
The bill
sponsored by Sen. Jim Merritt, R-Indianapolis, would prohibit the
Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission from extending or beginning new
contracts with the program after this year. It also would also prevent
the commission from requiring utilities to meet specific energy
efficiency goals.
On Tuesday, members of the Sierra Club, the
Citizens Action Coalition, and Hoosier Interfaith Power and Light
delivered about 4,100 signatures, including some signed on online
petitions, to Pence’s office asking the governor to save the program.
Jodi
Perras, director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign in Indiana,
said companies such as Honeywell and Ingersoll Rand have mobilized
because the late session changes to the bill that would effectively end
the program they have benefited from.
"This happened so quickly,
the business community didn’t have a chance to testify because this came
out of the blue really quickly, so now they’re trying to get involved,"
she said.
Honeywell spokesman Aaron Parker said the company,
which has about 1,100 employees at six Indiana locations, offers rebates
through Energizing Indiana for its variable frequency drives for
commercial and industrial customers. Those save energy by allowing
motors to ramp up and down, instead of operating in a simple on-or-off
mode, he said.
Rebates for the company’s energy-efficiency commercial lighting systems are also offered through
Indiana’s program.
Ingersoll
Rand spokeswoman Paige Muhlenkamp said the company sells numerous
energy-efficient products, including the Trane brand of heating and air
conditioning systems for residential and commercial users. Rebates for
those products are also offered through Energizing Indiana, she said.
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