States continued to advance energy efficiency initiatives in 2012, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) in its annual State Energy Efficiency Scorecard. Massachusetts leads the list for the second year in a row, while West Virginia, North Dakota, and Mississippi came in last.
States are benchmarked based on six primary policy areas: utility and public benefits programs; transportation; building energy codes; combined heat and power (CHP); state government-led initiatives around energy efficiency; and appliance and equipment standards.
The three most improved states were Oklahoma, Montana, and South Carolina, which significantly increased their budgets for electric efficiency programs in 2011.