Comprehensive State Energy Plan
Thanks to the leadership of Governor Jay Nixon, Missouri is in a prime position for advancing energy efficiency. Since 2009, renewable energy production in Missouri has increased by more than 1 million megawatt-hours, or nearly 500 percent, while electricity costs have remained low.
Governor Nixon has made clean, affordable and abundant energy a focal point for his administration. In fact, one of the first executive orders the governor signed in 2009 directed state agencies to reduce energy consumption by two percent each year. Missouri state employees not only rose to the occasion, but surpassed his directive, reducing energy use by more than 22 percent in five years. That’s a reduction of more than four percent each year, and equates to removing 17,189 cars from the road annually.
Within the first few months of the governor’s first term in office, he signed Senate Bill 376 more widely known as the Missouri Energy Efficiency Investment Act (or MEEIA). The act gives investor-owned utilities incentives to implement energy efficiency programs, which ultimately protect the environment and hold down costs for both consumers and businesses.
In 2013, the governor also issued an executive order, transferring the Division of Energy to the Department of Economic Development as a way to streamline resources for businesses in the energy solutions industry—one that was identified with the strongest potential for growth in the governor’s 2010 Strategic Initiative on Economic Growth.
In 2014, the governor signed an executive order to develop the state’s first statewide comprehensive energy plan. In public meetings across the state, the initiative will solicit input from stake holders including consumers, businesses, public utilities, renewable energy companies, academic researchers and environmental advocates.
