Utility Director, Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance

The mission of the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA) is to be a unified voice for energy efficiency through research, education, policy, communication, and the deployment of programs that promote energy efficiency for a cleaner environment, a more prosperous economy, and a higher quality of life in the Southeastern region of the United States. The not-for-profit organization is based in Atlanta and serves Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In the Southeast, success in promoting energy efficiency depends on active engagement of the utilities, particularly through expansion of energy efficiency programs funded by ratepayers and administered by the utilities. Although significant progress has been made in recent years, utility-based energy efficiency programs still lag well behind what is offered in other sections of the country. Improving this situation requires both helping utilities with best practices for planning, implementation, and evaluation of programs and changing the policies of regulators so that utilities are rewarded for saving energy, not just for selling it. It also requires a coordinated and cooperative effort of numerous stakeholders.