Item 3a-Energy Efficiency Equals Economic Development_Lanetta Cooper — original pdf

Backup

ENERGY EFFICIENCY EQUALS ECONOMICDEVELOPMENTThe Economics of Public Utility System Benefit Funds:Jerrold OppenheimTheo MacGregorJune 2008ABOUT THE AUTHORSJerrold Oppenheim and Theo MacGregor are the co-authors of a comprehensiveexamination of the benefits of early childhood education, published in 2002. Thatdocument has been used extensively to inform policy makers about the needs and valuesof investments made in Pre-K and other early childhood programs. In 2006, Entergyagain turned to Oppenheim and MacGregor for the answer to another critical question—that of “What is the business case for investing in low-income programs?”For 2008, Entergy asked Oppenheim and MacGregor to examine more deeply theeconomics of investing in low-income programs that focus on energy use.A graduate of Harvard College and Boston College Law School (Juris Doctor), JerroldOppenheim directed energy and utility litigation for the Attorneys General of New Yorkand Massachusetts. In his 35+-year career, he has played a key role in the development ofregulatory policy in US states as legal counsel and advisor for state governments,consumer organizations, low-income advocates, labor unions, environmental interests,industrial customers, and utilities.Theo MacGregor founded MacGregor Energy Consultancy in 1998, specializing inelectric industry consumer, low-income, and energy efficiency issues. Prior to foundingher own firm, Ms. MacGregor spent more than ten years with the Electric Power Divisionof the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU), most recently as actingdirector. Ms. MacGregor holds an MBA from Simmons School of Management inBoston, Massachusetts.Together, they are co-authors, with Greg Palast, ofDemocracy And Regulation(PlutoPress, 2002), winner of the American Civil Liberties Union Upton Sinclair Freedom ofExpression Award. Much of their recent work is posted onwww.DemocracyAndRegulation.com.ENERGY EFFICIENCY EQUALS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTFOREWORDPublic investments in low-income energy efficiency are an extraordinarily potent sourceof economic development, including jobs. To make this point we used conventionalUnited States Commerce Department multiplier data to determine the effect of low-income energy efficiency in a manner not done before: we analyzed the multiplier effectof the investment, as many others have done, but we also analyzed the multiplier effect ofa comprehensive menu of economic benefits of thus directing resources to reducepoverty. To make the point in an unmistakable way, we compared our results with themultiplier effect of a public investment that is widely agreed (including by us) to besocially and economically productive – public incentives for manufacturing. Ifinvestments in low-income energy efficiency were as economically productive asinvestments to attract manufacturing, then such investments would be very productiveindeed.We favor the development of domestic manufacturing because it provides well-payingjobs and increases economic activity in a particular locale. However, relatively smallinvestments in low-income energy efficiency (financed by utility rates) are equallyimportant. The benefits that come from helping poor people save money on energymultiplies throughout a state by providing entry-level jobs as well as producing benefitsthat are not generated by traditional economic development investment, includingreductions in such major public costs as fire protection, crime, and health care.There is much support for low-income energy efficiency throughout the country becauseof the social benefits of making low-income energy bills more affordable. We agree, butour point in this study is that low-income energy efficiency is not charity: suchinvestments provide large net benefits for the entire economy.Because of the nature of the Commerce Department data, we report our results as pointestimates. It would be more realistic, however, to treat all such multiplier results asbandwidths. Thus, while we report an economic output multiplier, using conservativeassumptions, of 23 for low-income energy efficiency (2.7 times the multiplier formanufacturing), even reducing the efficiency multiplier – and increasing themanufacturing multiplier – by athird, would result in a low-income energy efficiencymultiplier that is more than 30 percent higher than that for manufacturing. In this way,our overall conclusion about the potent economic value of low-income energy efficiencyis extremely robust.Our conclusions are twofold. Policy-makers should continue to make public investmentsin manufacturing to capture the important economic development benefits they create. Inaddition, policy-makers should mandate investment of utility ratepayer funds inweatherization and energy efficiency programs for low-income homes to capture theimportant economic development benefits they create.TABLE OF CONTENTSI. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................4II. QUANTIFYING THE BENEFITS.............................................................................8Introduction.................................................................................................................8Multiplier effects.........................................................................................................9Environmental impacts..............................................................................................11Other benefits............................................................................................................13III. ADDRESSING ENERGY AFFORDABILITY........................................................15The Loss of Energy Affordability..............................................................................15Poverty..................................................................................................................16Income..................................................................................................................18Failure to Respond.....................................................................................................23IV. A GREAT AFFORDABILITY GAP REMAINS.....................................................25National Reports........................................................................................................25Entergy States............................................................................................................28Arkansas................................................................................................................28Louisiana...............................................................................................................29New Orleans..........................................................................................................30Mississippi............................................................................................................31Texas (Beaumont).................................................................................................32V. PUBLIC POLICY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE...................................................34What Public Policy Can Do to Foster Energy Affordability.......................................34Success Begins in Arkansas...................................................................................35And in Texas.........................................................................................................36Historic Trends..........................................................................................................38Current Anti-Poverty Programs.................................................................................40VI. CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................47APPENDIX A: ENTERGY JURISDICTIONS..............................................................49The Economic Benefits of Combatting Poverty with Low-Income Energy Efficiency ineach Entergy Jurisdiction...........................................................................................49ARKANSAS.............................................................................................................49What more can be done?........................................................................................50LOUISIANA.............................................................................................................52What more can be done?........................................................................................53NEW ORLEANS......................................................................................................55What can be done?.................................................................................................55MISSISSIPPI............................................................................................................57What can be done?.................................................................................................58TEXAS (Beaumont)..................................................................................................60What more can be done?........................................................................................61APPENDIX B: METHODOLOGY...............................................................................63Environmental impacts..............................................................................................64Other benefits............................................................................................................67APPENDIX C:..............................................................................................................69Successful Low-Income Programs.............................................................................69Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds4I. INTRODUCTION1Which does more for a local economy – a manufacturing plant or energy affordabilityprograms for low-income homes? Perhaps surprisingly, investing in low-income energyaffordability is one of the most potent tools available for stimulating the economy andsoftening income disparities, while providing to everyone benefits that far exceed theinvestment. To be sure, public investment in tax breaks to attract well-paid manufacturingjobs yields a positive economic benefit for a state. But, across the Entergy jurisdictions ofArkansas, Louisiana, New Orleans, Mississippi, and the Beaumont-Port Arthur area ofTexas, investments in low-income efficiency yieldmore than 23 times the investment, aswell as 216 jobs for every million dollars of investment. Public investments to attractmanufacturing jobs also yield a positive benefit to the local economy – but, whenanalyzed in the same way, the economic benefit of low-income energy efficiency trumpsthat of the manufacturing plant.We do not suggest that the decision should be either one or the other -- that is, we do notpropose that state policies should not try to attract the relatively high-paid jobs a large-scale manufacturing plant brings. But we do suggest at least parallel investments in low-income energy efficiency.In this study, we analyze the economic cost-effectiveness of investments in low-incomeenergy efficiency, including how such investments multiply through the economy. Weshow that the investments:(cid:120)create jobs, the wages from which are spent on goods and services, thuscreating more jobs, the wages from which are spent on more goods andservices, and so on multiplying through the economy (net of the lessermultiplier effect of leaving these funds in household hands);(cid:120)lower energy bills, which puts more cash in the hands of low-incomehouseholds to be spent on goods and services, multiplying as above (this ispartially offset by the negative multiplier effect of reduced utility revenue);(cid:120)reduce pollution – particularly emissions of carbon dioxide, which in turnreduces property and health damage from climate change, conservativelymeasured as the cost of controlling carbon dioxide (i.e., the projected price foran allowance to emit carbon dioxide); and(cid:120)result in other benefits not otherwise accounted for, such as reduced fires,lower crime rates, increased health, and reduced costs of utility collectionsand terminations, the value of which also multiply through the economy.Investments to attract high-paying manufacturing jobs are also beneficial, so we do notrecommend against them. But, when analyzed in the same way, state-mandated utilityinvestment in low-income energy efficiency programs are a powerful source of economicdevelopment – almost three (2.7)times more powerful than alternatives, and they yield1 The authors are grateful for research assistance from Dan Baw (Entergy Corp.), Elizabeth MacGregor,and Arthur Willcox.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds5triple the number of jobs. A combination of long-term energy efficiency investments andshort-term emergency assistance is an essential and cost-effective way to break the backof poverty in a way that benefits the entire economy. (We chose manufacturing because itis a particularly strong driver of economic development. Our point is that there is alsohigh economic value to investments in low-income energy efficiency.) Even a programcomprised of one-third efficiency and two-thirds assistance would generate 19 percentmore economic activity and 56 percent more jobs than an equal public investment inattracting a manufacturing plant. So public investment in low-income energy efficiencyshould be a key component of a balanced economic development strategy.Multipliers across Entergy jurisdictionsFor every $1,000,000 in investmentIncreased economic outputJobsENERGY EFFICIENCYNet effect of investment$3,699,94431Net effect of bill savings$4,397,58663Effect of environmental improvement$1,707,72813Effect of non-energy benefits$13,211,457109TOTAL$23,016,716216ASSISTANCENet effectof investment$2,108,64044Effect of non-energy benefits$1,791,52315TOTAL$3,900,16259MANUFACTURING PLANTNet effect of investment$11,977,14390Effect of environmental detriment-$3,376,227-19TOTAL$8,600,91671In an earlier study, we showed that investments to eradicate poverty returnalmost fourtimes the investment to all people, not just the poor, by increasing wages multiplyingthrough the economy and decreasing the costs we all pay for such things as healthcareand crime.2 When families have enough money in their pockets, they spend more at thegrocer and pharmacy, and at department stores, clothing stores, and toy stores – creatingmore jobs for people who then spend their new incomes on more products and services,thus creating yet more jobs. That is what economists call the multiplier effect. In thisreport, we demonstrate that confronting the low-income energy crisis is an extremelycost-effective way to reduce poverty and thus support families’ transition to self-sufficiency.We have also shown in earlier studies that even a modest investment of $1 per residentialcustomer per month targeted to low-income energy efficiency yields benefits, usingconventional benefit:cost analysis, ofseven times the investment.3 Obviously, energy is2 J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor, “The Economics of Poverty: How Investments to Eliminate PovertyBenefit All Americans,” (Entergy Corp. n.d.[2006]),www.democracyandregulation.com/detail.cfm?artid=99&row=0.3 J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor, “The Economics of Low-Income Electricity Efficiency Investment”(Entergy Corp., 2001) (benefit:cost ratio of seven times investment, updated in the instant paper).See alsoJ. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor, “Protecting Low-Income Consumers: Building on Two Decades ofOppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds6saved and bills are reduced. In addition, environmental pollutants are reduced and jobsare created, property values are increased, and the costs of fire and ill health are reduced,as are utility collection costs.It is increasingly difficult to live as a poor family in the richest nation the world has everknown. Being poor in America means not knowing whether enough food for dinner willbe in the pantry tomorrow, or even whether essential prescriptions will be in the medicinecabinet. If you are poor in America, the odds are high that you cannot afford a doctor foryour underweight or asthmatic child. It often means you cannot find a job – or that thejob you have does not pay you enough to buy the essentials of life. You may not evenhave a home telephone or glass in every window. And you certainly cannot afford energy– $4 a gallon for gasoline, the high and volatile price for heating gas or oil, or theincreased price of electricity.The territories served by Entergy – parts of Arkansas, Louisiana (including all of NewOrleans), Mississippi, and Texas (Beaumont area) – are particularly hard hit by povertyand this has consequences far beyond the particular families directly affected. Loweducational attainment drives wages down, the impact of which multiplies through theentire local economy. Poor health drives up medical costs that everyone must pay.As energy prices have doubled and tripled, poor families have fallen further and furtherbehind. The proportion of Entergy customers disconnected from utility service and thenunable to reconnect has increased.4 Eliminating or reducing this energy crisis is anextremely cost-effective contribution to the eradication of poverty by helping to movepeople toward self-sufficiency. Helping families meet essential needs, such as that forenergy, helps them work toward addressing their other fundamental problems, such ashunger, ill health, lack of education, unemployment, and industrial relocation. In thisway, energy assistance complements other public policy anti-poverty efforts.Energy is such a significant part of a family’s budget – some elderly recipients who liveon fixed incomes pay as much as 35 percent of their annual incomes for energy bills5 –that it is impossible to address poverty without addressing energy use and costs. Helpingfamilies permanently reduce their energy bills also attacks the hopelessness that povertyimposes. It teaches that one can overcome poverty by planning, rather than passing it onto one’s children.State public policy in the energy area is thus extremely well-situated to help break thepoverty cycle. State policy can build on the existing energy assistance infrastructure(federal fuel assistance and weatherization programs, and private fuel funds), as well ason utility customer relationships. State policy can facilitate public utility work withstakeholders to help poor families help themselves by using energy more efficiently.Lessons Learned” (Entergy Corp, 2000, updated 2001); J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor, “Poverty in theEntergy Service Territories” (Entergy Corp., 2002). In Section II, below, we update Societal Cost-effectiveness to a benefit:cost ratio of 7.9.4 Computed by the authors from Entergy data.5 US DOE EERE, http://www.eere.energy.gov/weatherization/reducing.html.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds7Energy affordability programs, as part of an overall national strategy to combat poverty,can contribute to poverty reductions of close to 50 percent. A national strategy againstpoverty includes public expenditures for necessities such as shelter, heating, and cooling,as well as food and health care. Public policy may also include such tried and trueweapons as early childhood education,6 Individual Development Accounts (IDAs),7 jobtraining, legal services to help poor people secure rights the rest of us take for granted,and anti-fraud enforcement to protect against unscrupulous vendors. The War on Povertyof the 1960s cut the fraction of the population living below the poverty line almost inhalf. Even a Federal policy in the 1990s of simply improving the economy and slightlyequalizing income distribution cut the poverty fraction by almost a quarter.Reducing poverty is a moral imperative. The point of this paper is that reducing povertyalso represents economic opportunity Addressing poverty creates a powerful engine ofeconomic advancement for all. Low-income energy efficiency and assistance is a giantopportunity for broad economic development.6 J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor, “The Economics of Education: Public Benefits of High-QualityPreschool Education for Low-Income Children” (Entergy Corp., n.d. [2002]),http://www.democracyandregulation.com/detail.cfm?artid=37&row=5.7 Below at text and footnotes from note 145et seq.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds8II. QUANTIFYING THE BENEFITSIntroductionAs cost-effective as are investments against poverty generally, or in early childhoodeducation particularly, investments in low-income energy efficiency are probably themost powerful investments available. We analyzed investments in energy efficiency,energy payment assistance, and (as an illustration of strong alternative investments)manufacturing across the region served by Entergy – Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana(including New Orleans), and Beaumont, Texas. Our research and calculations show, forexample, that investments in efficiency create almost three (2.7) times the economicactivity, and three times as many jobs, as an equal-sized investment to attract a largemanufacturing plant. The economic multiplier for low-income energy efficiency is morethan 23, with 216 jobs produced per million dollars of investment.This study does not question the need for public investment to attract or keep large-scalemanufacturing plants. The research points to the benefits of investing in bothmanufacturing plants and low-income energy efficiency programs.Multipliers across Entergy jurisdictionsFor every $1,000,000 in investmentIncreased economic outputJobsENERGY EFFICIENCYNet effect of investment$3,699,94431Net effect of bill savings$4,397,58663Effect of environmental improvement$1,707,72813Effect of non-energy benefits$13,211,457109TOTAL$23,016,716216ASSISTANCENet effectof investment$2,108,64044Effect of non-energy benefits$1,791,52315TOTAL$3,900,16259MANUFACTURING PLANTNet effect of investment$11,977,14390Effect of environmental detriment-$3,376,227-19TOTAL$8,600,91671Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds9National results are similar.National multipliersFor every $1,000,000 in investmentIncreased economic outputJobsENERGY EFFICIENCYNet effect of investment$5,773,94347Net effect of bill savings$5,217,648105Effect of environmental improvement$5,743,95236Effect of non-energy benefits$17,437,091150TOTAL$34,172,634337ASSISTANCENet effect of investment$2,686,70283Effect of non-energy benefits$2,708,57921TOTAL$5,395,281104MANUFACTURING PLANTNet effect of investment$16,510,983127Effect of environmental detriment-$5,110,207-29TOTAL$11,400,77698Thus, nationally, investments in energy efficiency are 3.0 times more economicallyproductive than investments in manufacturing and create 3.4 times as many jobs. Theeconomic multiplier is more than 34, with 337 jobs per million dollars of investment.Using a conventional benefit:cost analysis, we recently re-computed the conventionalbenefit:cost ratio of energy efficiency to be 9.5 – by that calculation, investments inefficiency return to society (including utilities, participants, taxpayers, and theenvironment) almost ten times their investment.Our economic multiplier studies show that each dollar in LIHEAP assistance creates$3.90 in positive economic impacts in the local economy of the five Entergyjurisdictions. Nationally, each LIHEAP dollar generates $5.40 of economic activity. Alarge part of this economic activity is jobs – 59 per million dollars spent Entergy-wide,104 nationally.Multiplier effectsOur analysis is based on the regional input-output tables maintained by the U.S.Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).8 Investments of anykind ripple through the economy, creating additional economic activity – including jobs.An investment in energy efficiency, for example, creates jobs to fabricate, distribute, andinstall products ranging from weatherstripping to refrigerators to compact fluorescentlight bulbs (CFLs). Each of those jobs creates income that is spent to create furthereconomic activity, and so on. Input-output analysis tracks this path of investment dollars8http://www.bea.gov/regional/rims/index.cfm.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds10in particular economic sectors within a region and describes their total economic andemployment impact within that region.Unlike many studies of this kind,9 we conservatively report this impact net of the impactof transferring the funds necessary for the investments from taxpayers or ratepayers. Thefunds so transferred would themselves have had a multiplier effect in the absence of thetransfer, so we subtract that baseline impact in order to compute the net impact oftransferring the funds to support energy efficiency, energy assistance, or a manufacturingplant. In the case of manufacturing plants, we track only the public investment andassume, based on historic experience, that it leverages out-of-region investment of 4.3times the public investment.10We computed the impacts of investments in efficiency improvements with a weightedaverage 19.25-year life.11 We assumed a 20-year life for the manufacturing plant, thoughthis is considerably less certain. Some manufacturing plants are not economically stable –a typical product model may only be built for five years, after which a plant must betemporarily closed for re-tooling or even permanently closed.12 Ironically, mirroring thenation, all Entergy states are losing manufacturing despite the efforts to attract it:13 Manufacturing losses, 2001-2007US-2.2%Arkansas-3.9%Louisiana-1.1%Mississippi-2.9%Texas-1.4%By comparison, weatherization and efficiency are necessarily local and therefore create alarge number of local jobs, many of which can be filled from the low-income9E.g., “A comprehensive review of the total net economic impacts would need to assess not only theimpacts of the fuel assistance expenditures, but consider also the offsetting impacts of the expenditures thatthis money would have been spent on had it not been spent on fuel assistance. This analysis does notconsider these net impacts, but rather only the gross impacts of fuel assistance. Considering gross impactsis widely accepted as an appropriate analysis of the economic impacts of designated expenditures. Seee.g.,[citations omitted].” R. Colton,“The Economic Development Impacts of Home Energy Assistance: TheEntergy States”(Entergy Corp. 2003).10Computed from Hill & Brahmst, “The Auto Industry Moving South: An Examination of Trends” (Centerfor Automotive Research, 2003).11 Efficiency measure lives range from 7 years for water heater wraps to 30 for attic insulation.12 Hill & Brahmst, “The Auto Industry Moving South: An Examination of Trends” at 13 (Center forAutomotive Research, 2003). The economics of existing plants do not necessarily favor keeping them open.E.g., E. Eckholm, “Blue-Collar Jobs Disappear, Taking Families’ Way of Life Along”New York Times(Jan. 16, 2008).13 Economic Policy Institute (EPI) from U.S. Bureau of Labor data, March 2001-November 2007, L. Foxetal., “States continue to hemorrhage manufacturing jobs,” (EPI, Dec. 2007)www.epi.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_snapshots_20071212.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds11community14 – home installation work cannot be shipped overseas or across NorthAmerican borders. And the need to weatherize low-income homes and make themenergy-efficient is largely unmet and will therefore take decades to complete.It is also noteworthy that low-income households pump proportionately more money intothe economy than average households15 – they cannot afford to save – so the multipliereffect of lowering their bills with energy efficiency measures is particularly strong. Thisis partially offset by reductions in utility revenue (the utility multiplier is lower than thatof low-income households), though this effect is attenuated somewhat by utility benefitsthat lower utility costs: lower arrears, lower collection costs, and lower disconnection-reconnection costs.Environmental impactsIn determining the economic value of energy efficiency, we have taken into account theeconomic impact of avoiding property and health damage from environmental pollutants,mostly carbon dioxide. Conversely, we account for the environmental costs ofmanufacturing.16The damage caused by increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide is their tendency toincrease the overall temperature of the planet. Adverse impacts in the US include:(cid:120)more intense storms (Boston, for example, has been subjected to two “100-yearstorms” and three “fifty-year storms” in the last decade; Hurricanes Rita andKatrina may also be examples of this phenomenon);(cid:120)coastal flooding;(cid:120)urban heat-related mortality (including deteriorated air quality,i.e., smog);(cid:120)increases in allergic reactions;(cid:120)reduced winter recreation;(cid:120)increased competition for fresh water;(cid:120)increased damage to forests from fires, pests, and disease; and(cid:120)drought in the Southwest.1714 T. Friedman, “The Green-Collar Solution” (New York Times, Oct. 17, 2006). Conservatively, we did notinclude the resulting benefits of reduced unemployment and reduced social supports.15 P. R. Tcherneva, “Missouri’s Cost of Unemployment” (University of Missouri – Kansas City Departmentof Economics, Center for Full Employment and Price Stability, Special Report 0502, 2002).Also see BLSconsumer expenditure data: in 2006, for example, the average household, with after-tax income of $58,101,spent 83% of income; above $70,000, averaging income of $119,298, spent only 60%, but the groupbetween $30,000 and $40,000, averaging income of $33,916, spent 104% of income – at lower incomes,expenditures above income are even larger. Income before taxes: Average annual expenditures andcharacteristics, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2006ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/ce/standard/2006/income.txt16 For purposes of calculating environmental impacts, we looked specifically at automobile manufacturing.17 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations (UN), Fourth AssessmentReport, www.ipcc.ch; Nicholas Stern, The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review (CambridgeUniversity Press, 2007), http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk./independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/stern_review_report.cfmOppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds12It is often pointed out in response that an extended US growing season would offset theadverse economic effects of such impacts.18 However, this short-run benefit will be offsetby high temperatures and water shortages in the longer run.19 “High temperature episodescan reduce yields by up to half.”20 Another pressure on food supplies, and thus prices, isthe sharply increased use of corn to produce the gasoline substitute ethanol – the fractionof the corn crop devoted to ethanol has gone from three percent to 20 percent in fiveyears while the price of corn has about doubled in two.21In the rest of the world, particularly the less developed world, impacts also include:(cid:120)drought,(cid:120)heat-related mortality,(cid:120)increased cardio-respiratory disease caused by increased ground level ozone,(cid:120)additional stress on water resources (including hydroelectricity) from bothreduced snow melt and pollution such as algae and salinization,(cid:120)flash floods,(cid:120)decreased ability to grow food (including aquaculture),(cid:120)stress on fisheries,(cid:120)flooding (to the point of overwhelming some small South Pacific islands) anderosion,(cid:120)increased insect-borne disease, and(cid:120)pressure to migrate.22These impacts translate to national security concerns in the US as pressure mounts for aidand conflict resolution.23 Changes in ocean temperatures and melting ice sheets also have(October 2006). Supporting documents are located at http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk./independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/stern_review_supporting_documents.cfm (Stern Review).18E.g., R. Mendelsohn and J. Neumann, eds., The Impact of Climate Change on the United StatesEconomy (Cambridge Univ. Press 1999). “The research provides repeated support of the importance ofadaptation. Adaptation mitigates the impacts of environmental damage in every sector studied. Theresearch also demonstrates that modest warming will entail benefits for the United States in some sectors.The U.S. agriculture, forestry, and outdoor recreation sectors are all projected to benefit from aslightlywarmer, wetter, CO2-enriched world. These benefits outweigh the damages measured in the coastal, water,and energy sectors, suggestingsmall amounts of warming could be good for the U.S. economy. Theresearch, however, does not measure all relevant nonmarket [costs and] benefits such as health effects,species loss, and human amenity impacts, so nothing definitive can be said about the net effect of climatechange on the quality of life in the United States. The research also does not extend beyond U.S. borders.”(Introduction, p. 15, emphasis added)19 Stern Review at 71, 80.20 Stern Review at 80.21 E.g., Anon., “Very, Very Big Corn,” Wall St. Journal at A8 (Jan. 27, 2007).22 IPCC; Stern Review.23 A. Revkin (New York Times), “UN: Poor nations unprepared for global warming,” Boston Globe at A5(April 1, 2007) (referring to IPCC Fourth Assessment, vol II); B. Bender, “Bill ties climate to nationalsecurity/Seeks assessments by CIA, Pentagon,” Boston Globe at A1 (April 9, 2007).Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds13an impact on US Navy operations.24 Also of concern is that economic pressures on othernations reduce their ability to export to, or import from, the US.As a proxy for this health, property, and economic damage, we use cost of control, whichis approximated by the projected market price for an allowance for carbon dioxideemission.25 The cost of damage is very much greater than the cost of control, 26 so our useof the cost of control is very conservative. Avoiding these costs is a benefit of energyefficiency; incurring them is a cost of manufacturing.Environmental costs of manufacturing include, for example, jobs lost due to damagedmachines and hours of employment lost due to damaged health. Of course these costs canbe mitigated and this additional cost creates jobs and economic output, albeit at lowereconomic multipliers than a manufacturing plant. However, such environmentalmitigation also requires investment. Our analysis compares $1 million of publicinvestment in low-income energy efficiency against the same investment to attract amanufacturing plant. The latter requires investment in environmental mitigation, whichmust be netted against the manufacturing investment in order to maintain the comparisonat $1 million each. Since the multipliers for environmental mitigation are less than thosefor manufacturing, the net economic impact of an efficiency investment remain superiorto manufacturing with environmental mitigation. As an additional conservatism, we donot account for this in our results.We accounted for criteria air pollutants – oxides of sulphur (SOx) and nitrogen (NOx), aswell as mercury (Hg) – but not carbon monoxide (CO) or fine particulates, which have noconsensus value. We also accounted for water savings.Other benefitsWe also computed other benefits that multiply through the economy,27 including(conservatively estimated):* Societal and taxpayer benefits, such as avoided fire damage, reduced costs of homelessshelters, the cost of crime avoided by reducing poverty, and the reduced costs ofhealthcare as a result of reducing poverty.24 B. Bender, “Bill ties climate to national security/Seeks assessments by CIA, Pentagon,” Boston Globe atA1 (April 9, 2007); S. Hargreaves, “Ex-CIA chief spooked by fossil fuels/R. James Woolsey says theswitch to renewables must be made to head off global warming and terrorism,” CNN. Com (March 8,2007).25 J. K Boyce et al., “Cap and Rebate: How to Curb Global Warming while Protecting the Incomes ofAmerican Families” Table 7 (University of Massachusetts at Amherst Political Economy ResearchInstitute, Oct. 2007).. This exercise assumed a consensus estimate of carbon price of $200 per ton (about$55 per ton of CO2) The price of CO2in Europe has already reached an average of $22.89 in 2007.Computed from L. Abboud, “Hot Carbon Market Signals New Interest,”Wall St. Journal at A6 (Jan. 18,2007).26 IPCC; Stern Review.27 Our methodology is described in Appendix B, below.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds14* Savings to program participants, including the reduced costs of moving (due totermination for non-payment) and resulting lost education, the value of deferring thepurchase of a refrigerator, the value of not losing utility service, the value of spendingless time on the phone with the utility, the value of increased comfort, and the reducedcosts of poor health.Many benefits are not quantified here, including increased property tax payments, energyprice reductions caused by lower demand, or energy rate reductions caused by retainedsales.There may be additional societal costs of a manufacturing plant, such as the need to buildinfrastructure and the increase in traffic congestion; however, these are not quantified.Our point is not to oppose public investments in manufacturing plants, but rather toestablish the economic benefits of public investments in low-income energy efficiency.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds15III. ADDRESSING ENERGY AFFORDABILITYThe Loss of Energy AffordabilityPoverty in the Entergy service territories runs deep. In a number of measures of poverty,residents of the Entergy states remain at or near the economic bottom compared to therest of the US. For example:(cid:120)The high percentage of children living in poverty in Mississippi and Louisianarank them at the bottom of the scale in the US (50 and 49, respectively). Arkansasand Texas are tied for 44th place.28(cid:120)As a percentage of their total populations in poverty, the ranks are almost thesame, with Mississippi at 50, Louisiana at 49, and Arkansas and Texas tied for42.29(cid:120)The median household income in Mississippi was only $34,473 in 2006. The USmedian was $48,451, ranking Mississippi number 51 (including the District ofColumbia). Arkansas was at 49, and Louisiana at 46. Entergy’s service territory inTexas, the Beaumont-Port Arthur region, had a median income of $40,072; themedian income in New Orleans was $35,859.30(cid:120)A better measure of economic well-being is whether incomes are sufficient tocover basic essentials. By this measure, 27 percent of the population of Arkansashas inadequate income, 28 percent of Louisiana, 30 percent of Mississippi, and 35percent of Texas.31(cid:120)Low-paid service jobs are the fastest growing category of job creation,32 yet theaverage service wage is about two-thirds of what is needed to support a family ata basic level.33(cid:120)Hunger is rampant in the Entergy states, with over 18 percent of people inMississippi not having enough to eat (ranking it 51 among the states), followed byTexas at 49, Louisiana at 45, and Arkansas at 44.3428 “Kids Count,” Annie E. Casey Foundation (2006). New York City is developing a new method ofcalculating poverty that would take into account the amount families actually spend on necessities, as wellas the value of assistance received. “Bloomberg Seeks New Way to Decide Who Is Poor,” NY Times (Dec.30, 2007). See the derivation of the federal poverty level, described in footnote 49.29 US Census CPS, factfinder.census.gov.30 US Census, www.factfinder.census.gov/home.31 Economic Policy Institute, The Basic Family Budget,www.epi.org/content.cfm/datazone_fambud_budget.32 A. Dohmet al., “Occupational employment projections to 2016.”Monthly Labor Review at 86-105,Tables 2-3 (Nov. 2007) (based on BLS data; eight of the top ten are retail, customer service, foodpreparation, clerk, health aides, and cleaning).33 Average service wage in 2004 was $10.65, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The medianhourly wage for the primary worker in low-income families is about $9. The Urban Institute, ”Low-IncomeWorking Families: Facts and Figures (2005),www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=900832. The Basic FamilyBudget in 2004 in the Entergy states ranged from $34,032 in Jackson, Mississippi, to $38,136 in NewOrleans. Economic Policy Institute, www.wpi.org/content.cfm/datazone_fambud_budget.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds16(cid:120)There are nearly twice the percentage of elderly poor in Mississippi, despitereceipt of Social Security, than the average across the US. The numbers are lowerfor the other Entergy states, but in each state, there are more poor elderly on apercentage basis than the national average.35(cid:120)While the percentage of adults in Entergy’s service territories that finished highschool in 2006 rose in each state from the level in 2000, they were still in the verybottom ranks in the nation: Mississippi at number 51; Texas at 50; Louisiana at49; and Arkansas at 45.36(cid:120)About half of Entergy’s customers live in rural areas where large numbers speak alanguage other than English as their first language.37A statistical review of the past decade shows:(cid:120)Official poverty rates in the Entergy jurisdictions are high and increasing, sharplyin some jurisdictions.(cid:120)Incomes of the bottom 60 percent across the country, adjusted for inflation, areabout the same now as in 1998.(cid:120)Meanwhile, incomes at the top have grown, so the gap between rich and poor iswidening.PovertyPoverty rates in the Entergy jurisdictions are higher than in 2000, by as much as 16percent.38 The exception is Louisiana, where the poverty rate is down by one point (fivepercent).34 “Household Food Security in the United States, 2006,” USDA,http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR49/ERR49appD.pdf (includes District of Columbia).35 http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparebar.jsp?ind=10&cat=1.36 US Census, factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACS 2006.37 Linda Barnes, “Entergy reaches out to those hardest to reach,” presentation to Chartwell’s AudioConference on Best Practices in Reaching Low-Income Customers with Energy Efficiency Programs (Oct.18, 2006).38 Data are from US Census American Community Survey (ACS). Data before 2000 are not quicklyavailable, but are obtainable if desired.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds17USArkansasLouisianaNew OrleansMississippiTexasBeaumont MSA200012.2%17.0%20.0%18.2%15.1%200112.1%15.4%19.1%18.6%15.0%200212.4%15.3%18.8%21.7%19.9%15.6%13.7%200312.7%16.0%20.3%20.8%19.9%16.3%18.3%200413.1%17.9%19.4%23.2%21.6%16.6%14.2%200513.3%17.2%19.8%24.5%21.3%17.6%13.5%200613.3%17.3%19.0%22.2%21.1%16.9%18.5%2006 v '009.0%1.8%-5.0%15.9%11.9%2006 v '027.3%13.1%1.1%2.3%6.0%8.3%35.0%10.0%12.0%14.0%16.0%18.0%20.0%22.0%24.0%2000200120022003200420052006Poverty Rates, US and Entergy jurisdictionsSource:US Census ACSJerroldOppenheimwww.DemocracyAndRegulation.comUSTexasBeaumontMSAArkansasLouisianaMississippiNew OrleansOppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds18IncomeWhile incomes in the US for the bottom 60 percent are the same now as in 1998, the top20 percent has enjoyed an income increase of seven percent.39 Income concentration in2005 (i.e., share of income going to the top one percent) was the greatest since 1929.40Here are the average inflation–adjusted incomes of each quintile:Quintile:LowestSecondMiddlePenultimateHighestGini index1997$11,071$27,678$46,565$72,123$153,7660.4591998$11,393$28,768$48,136$74,446$157,5360.4561999$11,997$29,459$49,310$76,745$163,6590.4582000$11,892$29,693$49,447$76,868$166,5710.4622001$11,543$29,004$48,548$76,119$166,2360.4662002$11,196$28,467$47,970$75,456$161,0990.4622003$10,598$28,149$47,784$75,636$161,2360.4642004$10,935$27,979$47,405$74,747$161,6460.4662005$11,004$28,254$47,819$75,213$164,8150.4692006$11,352$28,777$48,223$76,329$168,1700.4702006 v '98-0.4%0.03%0.2%2.5%6.8%3.1%By comparison, although the prior 20-year period also brought uneven income growth,there was growth at every level. The average inflation-adjusted income of the upper 20percent increased 59 percent and the next quintile’s income grew 36 percent. But at leastthere was also income growth for the bottom 60 percent of 19-28 percent.4139 Data are from the US Census Current Population Reports and reported here in 2006 dollars. Data forearlier years are readily available. It is too soon for consistently gathered data for 2007 or 2008. Gini indexmeasures increasing inequality (higher values represent greater inequality). “The most widely usedsummary measure of the degree of inequality in an household income distribution is the Gini coefficient. Itrepresents an overall measure of the cumulative income share against the share of households in thepopulation. The lower the value of the Gini coefficient, the more equally household income is distributed.”UK National Statistics, www.statistics.gov.uk/about/methodology_by_theme/gini/default.asp.40 Data from economics professors T. Piketty (Paris School of Economics) and E. Saez (Berkeley)in A.Aron-Dine, “New Data Show Income Concentration Jumped Again in 2005” (Center for Budget and PolicyPriorities, 2007).41 19%, 22%, and 28%, from bottom to middle quintile, respectively. Computed from US Census CPS datain J. Bernsteinet al. “Pulling Apart” (Center on Budget Policy and Priorities, 2006).Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds19-0.4%0.03%0.2%2.5%6.8%-1.0%0.0%1.0%2.0%3.0%4.0%5.0%6.0%7.0%LowestSecondMiddlePenultimateHighestIncome changes by quintiles, 2006 vs. 1998Source: US Census CPSJerrold Oppenheimwww.DemocracyAndRegulation.comOppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds20$11,393$11,997$11,892$11,543$11,196$10,598$10,935$11,004$11,352$28,768$29,459$29,693$29,004$28,467$28,149$27,979$28,254$28,777$48,136$49,310$49,447$48,548$47,970$47,784$47,405$47,819$48,223$74,446$76,745$76,868$76,119$75,456$75,636$74,747$75,213$76,329$157,536$163,659$166,571$166,236$161,099$161,236$161,646$164,815$168,170$0$20,000$40,000$60,000$80,000$100,000$120,000$140,000$160,000$180,000199819992000200120022003200420052006US Average Income By Quintile (2006$)Source: US Census, analyzed by Center on Budget and Policy+6.8%+2.5%+0.2%+0.03%-0.4%INCREASINGGAPThis is part of a longer-term trend. At the economic top, America has been a wonderland.For the top 20 percent of households, income after inflation has increased at a reasonablysteady 1.5 percent per year, compared to less than half that rate of growth at the bottom.42As a result, income inequality has widened to its worst gap since the 1920s43 -- averageincome at the top has swollen from eleven times income at the bottom to 15 times. (Forthe top five percent, the jump is even bigger, from 18 times to 26 times.)44 The top 20percent accounts for more than half the spending on new cars and trucks and almost halfthe spending on furniture and major home appliances.45 As more of America’s resourcesbecome concentrated at the top, it has become increasingly impossible for those at thebottom to get by. In fact, households below the official poverty line are losing ground –the official poverty line is rising two percentage points faster than their income.46 Even at42 Computed fromwww.cbpp.org/10-19-05pov.htm (compiling US Census data), at Table 22;see alsoTable 28 (CBO data).43 A. Aron-Dine, “New Data Show Income Concentration Jumped Again In 2005: Income Share Of Top1% At Highest Level Since 1929” (Center on Budget Policy and Priorities, 2007),http://www.cbpp.org/3-29-07inc.htm.44 Computed fromwww.cbpp.org/10-19-05pov.htm (compiling US Census data), at Table 22.45 53% of new cars and trucks, 47% of furniture, 44% of major appliances. Bureau of Labor StatisticsConsumer Expenditure Survey (2006), “Quintiles of income before taxes: Shares of average annualexpenditures and sources of income, www.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/ce/standard/2006/quintile.txt.46 Put another way, the poverty gap – the amount by which a household income falls short of the povertyline -- is increasing 2% per year. Computed fromwww.cbpp.org/10-19-05pov.htm (compiling US Censusdata), at Table 13.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds21the middle, median household income is falling – two percent less in 2006 than it was in1999.47 This widening gap is “entirely without precedent in the post-war period,”according to former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers.48Average Household Income by Quintile$0$20,000$40,000$60,000$80,000$100,000$120,000$140,000$160,000200420022000k1998199619941992e199019881986198419821980197819761974b1972197019682004$HighestPenultimateMiddleNext-to-LowestPoorest+1.5% per year after inflation+0.7% per year after inflation11 xPoorest15 xPoorestSource: Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, from US Census(The poorest 20 percent is a rough proxy for the poor in America. In this period, thefraction of the population below the official poverty line ranged from eleven to 15 percent, but the official poverty line is an inadequate specification of poverty and thefraction in poverty nationally is closer to a third. 49)47 US Census CPS,www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/histinc/h08.html. Median family incomeis two percent less than in 2000. J Bernstein, “The Recession Analysis I Haven’t Seen, Or Why WeMay be About to Make Economic History” (Dec. 2, 2007),http://www.epi.org/printer.cfm?id=2850&content_type=1&nice_name=webfeatures_viewpoints_recession_analysis. Until recently, household incomes in the middle three quintilesrose slightly, considerably slower than those at the top.48 D. Wessel, “The Case for Taxing Globalization’s Big Winners,”Wall St. Journal at A2 (June 14, 2007).49 The FPL today is more a measure of destitution than poverty and this analysis should be viewed in thatlight. The assumption of this section is that the trends at the FPL are more or less mirrored at a truemeasure of poverty, which is about twice the FPL. The fraction of Americans actually living in poverty isbetween 25% and 33%, depending on the measure used. J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor, “The Economicsof Poverty: How Investments to Eliminate Poverty Benefit All Americans,” at 1, 21, 22 (Entergy Corp.n.d.[2006]),www.democracyandregulation.com/detail.cfm?artid=99&row=0.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds22The FPL was first developed in 1963 by Mollie Orshansky of the Social Security Administration. Shestarted with the “thrifty food plan,” an emergency food plan based on a U.S. Department of Agriculture(USDA) 1955 food consumption survey published for times “when funds are low.” At the time, the averagecost of food represented a third of a household’s budget, so Ms. Orshansky simply multiplied the cost ofthe USDA thrifty food plan by three to arrive at the FPL. Subsequently the FPL has been adjusted forinflation, but nothing else. Jessie Willis, “How We Measure Poverty: A History and Brief Overview”(Oregon Center for Public Policy ,2000),http://www.ocpp.org/poverty/how.htm. For Fiscal2008, the FPL for a family of 4 is $20,650. Mass. Dept. of Housing & Community Development, “ColdRelief” at 7 (2007). If the FPL were re-computed just to account for the fact that food now accounts foronly about 10.6 percent of the budget of the average four-person household (Bureau of Labor Statistics,ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/ce/crosstabs/y0506/sizbyinc/xfour.txt), the FPLwould about triple, to $61,950. Even at an average income of $35,212, food takes only 17.8% of the budgetof a four person household(ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/ce/crosstabs/y0506/sizbyinc/xfour.txt), 1.85times the FPL assumption, resulting in an FPL of $38,203. A similar approach is to observe that essentialexpenditures today include many items that were not included in a basic 1963 budget, such as the childcareand commuting costs required when both parents are working. From that point of view, many efforts havebeen made to estimate a sustainable income to cover basic human needs. One of these is the Basic FamilyBudget, developed by the Economic Policy Institute to cover basic needs of food, shelter, clothing,commuting and other basics – no savings, insurance, or eating out.http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/datazone_fambud_budget Here are EPI Basic FamilyBudgets for 2004:Little Rock, Arkansas$36,264 (27% of Arkansans live below basic income)Baton Rouge, Louisiana$37,200 (28% of Louisianans live below basic income)New Orleans, Louisiana$38,136Jackson, Mississippi$34,032 (30% of Mississippians live below basic income)Beaumont, Texas$35,820 (35% of Texans live below basic income)BLS consumer expenditure data confirm the need for at least $34,000 a year to get by. In 2006, forexample, the average household, with after-tax income of $58,101, spent 83% of income; above $70,000,averaging income of $119,298, spent only 60%. But the group between $30,000 and $40,000, averagingincome of $33,916, spent 104% of income – at lower incomes, expenditures above income are even larger.BLS, Income before taxes: Average annual expenditures and characteristics, Consumer ExpenditureSurvey, 2006Note that Basic Family Budgets in other parts of the country are considerably higher,e.g., $58,656 in NewYork City, 35% of residents of New York State live below basic income.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds23Failure to RespondDespite these appalling statistics, not enough is being done to ease the suffering, let aloneto alleviate the conditions that cause poverty. For example:(cid:120)Welfare support has decreased in the past ten years in each of the Entergy states,most dramatically in Louisiana (84 percent), compared to the US average of a 62percent decline.50(cid:120)Very few eligible customers receive fuel assistance for heating in the Entergystates (less than two percent in Texas, six percent in Louisiana, 19 percent inMississippi and 30 percent in Arkansas).51(cid:120)The amount per household and the value of fuel assistance has declineddramatically in the past four years, falling as a percentage of home heating costsnationally between FY2003 and FY2007 from 58.2 percent to 37.6 percent fornatural gas and from 50 percent to 37 percent for electricity.52 Even after anemergency release of fuel assistance funding in the 2007-2008 heating season,53fuel assistance provided only about 73 percent as much fuel as it did two yearsbefore, when only 16 percent of eligible households could be helped.54 ForArkansas, the total allocation is 41 percent less than two years before; Louisianaand Texas, 43 percent; Mississippi 44 percent.55(cid:120)Deaths from heat-related causes are rising. During a prolonged heat wave inAugust 2007 alone, in the central and southeastern US, more than 50 people diedand many more suffered from heat exhaustion, often due to inadequate airconditioning.56 National Weather Service data show that “[i]ntense heat is themost dangerous extreme weather condition facing low-income Americans whenmeasured in terms of individual deaths and injuries.”57(cid:120)Except for Arkansas, which has set a state minimum wage that is $0.40 per hourhigher than the federal minimum, none of the Entergy states exceeds the federalminimum wage of $5.85 per hour,58 thus setting the income from working atbelow the poverty line. (The minimum are scheduled to rise to $6.55 and $7.25 on50 US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), www.HHS.gov.51http://www.neada.org/publications/issuebriefs/LIHEAP_Issue_Brief_2007-11-26.pdf, Table 6. Numbersof households eligible for cooling assistance are not available.52 “Providing Heating and Cooling Assistance to Low Income Families,” The Low Income Home EnergyAssistance Program (LIHEAP), National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association (NEADA) Issue Briefat 11 and 12 (Nov. 26, 2007).http://www.neada.org/publications/issuebriefs/LIHEAP_Issue_Brief_2007-11-26.pdf (“NEADA Issue Brief Nov. 26, 2007”).53 US Department of Health and Human Services, ACF Press Office, “HHS Provides $450 Million inEnergy Assistance to Low-Income Families” (Jan. 16, 2008), www.hhs.gov/news.54 National Community Action Foundation, “Community Action Agencies Welcome Low-Income HeatingAssistance” (Jan. 16, 2008),www.ncaf.org/liheap (NCAF on Emergency Release, Jan. 16, 2008).55 National Community Action Foundation, “FY2008 LIHEAP Allocations Including Tribal Allotments, 1-16-08” (Jan. 16, 2008),www.ncaf.org/liheap (FY 2008 allocation chart, Jan. 16, 2008).56 “August 2007 Heat Wave Summary,” National Climatic Data Center, US Dept. of Commerce.57 National Fuel Funds Network, “When Weather Kills: Heat Response Plans and the Low-Income Needfor Home Cooling” at 1 (May 2002), www.nationalfuelfunds.org/toolkit.pdf.58 www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm, 11/28/2007.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds24July 24, 2008, and July 24, 2009, respectively.) A person would need to work 57hours a week at $7.25 just to reach the federal poverty level for a family of four($20,650).(cid:120)Unemployment hits Arkansas and Mississippi particularly hard among theEntergy states, putting them at numbers 45 and 49, respectively, among the states.Louisiana’s jobless rate actually decreased by almost a percentage point betweenNovember 2006 and November 2007, while employment levels increased by overtwo percent there, but this is probably a result of Hurricane Katrina-relateddisplacement and reconstruction.5959 US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS)Current Unemployment Rates for States and Historical Highs/Lows, Oct. 2007 (seasonally adjusted). BLSdata show that unemployment rates would be about one percentage point higher if they counted those whowant and are available for a job, have searched for work, but are not currently considered in the labor force.ftp://ftb.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/lf,aat1.txt; “Alternative measures of Labor underutilization,”www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t12.htm. Adding underemployed (defined to only include those workingpart-time when they want and are available for full-time work) adds about three-and-a-half to fourpercentage points. ; “Alternative measures of Labor underutilization,”www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t12.htm. The duration of unemployment is also increasing.Seenote 164.The official unemployment rate (the BLS LAUS), based on the Current Population Survey (CPS),also undercounts unemployment when compared with the Census Bureau’s relatively new AmericanCommunity Survey (ACS). The Census Bureau says “Because of its large sample size, the ACS will haveadvantages over the CPS in producing estimates [in certain circumstances].”www.census.gov/hhes/www/laborfor/laborguidance082504.html. Here is a comparison of the ACS andBLS LAUS unemployment reports for the year 2006, the last period for which ACS results are published.The ACS reports unemployment rates that are 31-95% higher than the official BLS LAUS rates:2006ACSBLS LAUSACS/BLSUS6.4%4.6%1.39ARK7.0%5.3%1.32LA7.8%4.0%1.95 NO12.0%NA NO MSA7.9%4.8%1.65MS8.9%6.8%1.31TX7.0%4.9%1.43 Beaumont MSA8.0%6.0%1.33http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DatasetMainPageServlet?_program=ACS&_submenuId=&_lang=en&_ts=;www.bls.gov/lau/lastrk06.htm;www.bls.gov/lau/lamtrk06.htm.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds25IV. A GREAT AFFORDABILITY GAP REMAINSNational ReportsWith the cost of oil well over $100 a barrel, the cost of gasoline over $4.00 a gallon, andthe cost of emitting carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels on track to rise dramatically,the energy burden faced by low-income families will only grow. Energy is alreadybeyond the reach of many households during cold winters and hot summers, and familiesare faced with stark choices: whether to pay their utility bills or buy food or medicine orother household necessities.60The National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association (NEADA) – the state LIHEAPdirectors – reports on some of the consequences of energy bills that have becomeunaffordable to more and more families across America:61(cid:120)Some households respond to high bills and arrearages by not heating their homesadequately in winter or cooling them during the summer, or by using unsafemeans to heat or light their homes (for example, heating with a kitchen oven orbarbeque grill or lighting with candles).(cid:120)In one recent NEADA survey of low-income clients, 44 percent said that theyskipped paying or paid less than their entire home energy bill in the past year.Households with children (67 percent) and those with income below 50 percent ofthe federal poverty level (62 percent) were more likely to do so.(cid:120)In the same study, NEADA found that 13 percent reported that broken airconditioners or termination of electric service prevented them from using their airconditioner. Households with a disabled member (19 percent) and householdswith children (19 percent) were somewhat more likely to report this problem.(cid:120)Many purchase heat or electricity for air-conditioning instead of food ormedications. Poor seniors in the north are also more likely to go hungry in latewinter and early spring, while seniors in the south, where energy bills for air-conditioning can be high, are 27 percent more likely to go hungry in thesummer.62Others report similar consequences:60 For example, “[poor American families with children] increase home fuel expenditures at the cost ofexpenditures on food and nutritional well-being.[P]oor parents are only imperfectly able to protect theirchildren from the effects of cold weather.” J. Bhattacharya,et al., “Heat or Eat? Cold Weather Shocks andNutrition in Poor American Families” (National Bureau of Economic Research, 2002). More than one-in-six households with children under age six (16.7%) go without medical care in order to pay their heat bills– for low-income seniors, it is nearly one-in-five (19.1%). More than one-quarter (27.2%) of wage earnerhouseholds forego medical care in order to pay their heating bill. Mercier Associates, “Iowa’s ColdWinters: LIHEAP Recipient Perspective” (2000). Energy prices have increased considerably since thetimes these studies were performed.61 NEADA Issue Brief Nov. 26, 2007.62 Mark Nord and Linda S. Kantor, “Seasonal Variation in Food Insecurity Is Associated with Heating andCooling Costs among Low-Income Elderly Americans,” American Society for Nutrition (2006).Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds26(cid:120)Many elderly do not ask for assistance even when it is available to them. A 90-year-old Vicksburg, Michigan, woman died on December 17, 2007, and hermentally disabled daughter suffered frostbite and exposure injuries, after theirelectricity was shut off for non-payment.63(cid:120)“Inability to pay utilities is second only to inability to pay rent as a reason forhomelessness,” reports the director of the Colorado Energy AssistanceFoundation.64(cid:120)People on Medicaid do not have as high survival rates for cancer as those withemployer-provided insurance, often becoming eligible for Medicaid only afterbecoming too sick to work and too late for treatment to do much good.65(cid:120)The current administration in Washington is imposing more restrictions on theability of states to determine for themselves who will have access to Medicaid.Louisiana tried to raise the income eligibility level for the State Children’s HealthInsurance Program to 300 percent of the FPL from 200 percent but was deniedapproval. Other states have faced similar roadblocks on Medicaid eligibility.66(cid:120)Children in low-income families with high utility heating costs are at greaternutritional risk in the winter and early spring than at other times of the year.Atthose times, children “go hungry or fill their stomachs with nutrient deficientfillers such as diluted juice, oatmeal made with only water or inexpensive highfat, sweetened foods.”67(cid:120)Young children from families that are eligible for but not enrolled in energyassistance are more likely than children from families receiving LIHEAP to besmall for their age (underweight) and more likely to need hospital admission onthe day of a health care visit.68(cid:120)“Babies and toddlers who live in energy insecure households are more likely to bein poor health; have a history of hospitalization; be at risk of developmentalproblems and be food insecure.”69(cid:120)In 2005, USDA reported that 38 million Americans lived in food insecurehouseholds, meaning they did not have the resources to purchase an adequatediet.70(cid:120)The inflation rate in 2007, 4.3 percent, was the highest in 17 years. Food pricesrose 4.9 percent; energy prices spiked 17.4 percent. The pace of overall price63 “Utility looks into death of Vicksburg woman, 90, after power shut off,” Battle Creek Enquirer (Jan. 2,2008).64 C. Umbrell, “LIHEAP: Real Help for Real People,American Gas t 18, 19 (quoting Karen Brown) (July2002).65 “The Cost of No Coverage,” The Boston Globe (Dec. 12, 2007).66 Robert Pear, “U.S. Curtailing Bids to Expand Medicaid Rolls,” NY Times (Jan. 4, 2008).67Cook, John T. and Deborah A. Frank, “Hunger filled with dire consequences,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer(March 21, 2004).68 Deborah A. Frank, MD, et al., “Heat or Eat: The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program andNutritional and Health Risks Among Children Less Than 3 Years of Age,” Pediatrics (Nov. 1, 2006).69Researchers from the Children’s Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program (C-SNAP) at the BostonMedical Center, as quoted in “NEADA Issue Brief Nov. 26, 2007.70 “Heat and Eat: Using Federal Nutrition Programs to Cushion the Shock of Skyrocketing Heating Bills”at 5, Food Research and Action Center (Nov. 2005).Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds27increases is accelerating, reaching 5.6 percent in the fourth quarter.71 In the firstthird of 2008 (through April), the pace of food price inflation rose to 6.9 percent;gasoline and heating oil prices jumped to record levels.72 The average share ofincome required to pay energy bills has hit six percent, the highest since the1980s73 (For the typical low-income household, the average share of incomegoing to utilities is 15 percent.74) But wages dropped in 2007, for the fourth timein five years,75 and median household income is less now than in 1999.76(cid:120)Since the 1980’s, the benefits of economic growth in the US have favored thewealthiest Americans, while the incomes of the poorest have remainedsubstantially stagnant.77 Factory and other skilled jobs paying $15-$30 an hour arebeing replaced by $7 or $8 retail jobs. “If you don’t work at Wal-Mart, the onlyjob you can get around here is in fast food,” says a mother of four in Wellston,Ohio.78 Consumer bankruptcies jumped nearly 40 percent in 2007 and areexpected to increase further in 2008.79 One survey found 48 percent expectingtheir children to be worse off than they are.8071 Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Consumer Price Index: December 2007” (Jan. 16, 2008),www.bls.gov/cpi;Associated Press, “Gas and food costs drive inflation up 4.1% in 2007,”Boston Globe at D2 (Jan.17, 2008).72 Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Consumer Price Index: April 2008" (May14, 2008),www.bls.gov/cpi;Associated Press, "Cost of oil falls after government demand report/Dollar holds gains against euro, priceof gas passes $4.04 a gallon,"http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12400801/ (June 10, 2008); Anon., "CrudePrices Rally; Heating Oil Hits Record,"http://www.thestreet.com/story/10416511/2/crude-prices-rally-heating-oil-hits-record.html (May 13, 2008); Anon., "UPDATE 1-U.S. retail heating oil price [$3.30] risesto record -EIA,"http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKN2742223920071227 (Dec. 27, 2007). By mid-March, heating oil had risen further, to $3.85.http://www.mass.gov/doer/fuels/pricing.htm#oilsurvey(March 18, 2008),http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_pri_wfr_dcus_nus_w.htm (March 17, 2008). Asthis is written, it is now $4.59.http://www.mass.gov/doer/ (June 10, 2008).For the year ended April 2008, dairy prices have jumped 11.8 percent while household energy prices are up9.4 percent, including fuel oil at 42.8 percent. Transportation prices have risen 7.2 percent, including motorfuel at 21.1 percent. Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Table 1. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers"(May 14, 2008),www.bls.gov/cpi.73 US Department of Commercein S. Patterson, “Energy’s Expanding Chunk of Household Budgets,”WallSt. Journal at C1 (Oct. 24, 2007).74 Mark Wolfe, NEADA Testimony on LIHEAP before the Subcommittee on Children and Families,Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, U.S. Senate (March 5, 2008).75 Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Real Earnings in December 2007” (Jan. 16, 2008),www.bls.gov/ces;Associated Press, “Gas and food costs drive inflation up 4.1% in 2007,”Boston Globe at D2 (Jan.17, 2008).76 US Census CPS,www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/histinc/h08.html. Median family income is lessthan in 2000. J Bernstein, “The Recession Analysis I Haven’t Seen, Or Why We May be About toMake Economic History” (Dec. 2, 2007),http://www.epi.org/printer.cfm?id=2850&content_type=1&nice_name=webfeatures_viewpoints_recession_analysis.77 “Pulling Apart: A State-by State Analysis of Income Trends,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities(Jan. 2006).78 E. Eckholm, “Blue-Collar Jobs Disappear, Taking Families’ Way of Life Along,”New York Times (Jan.16, 2008).79 American Bankruptcy Institute, “Consumer Bankruptcy Filings Up Nearly 40 Percent in 2007” (NationalBankruptcy Research Center data) (Jan. 3, 2008), Anon., “Consumer Bankruptcy Filings Rose 40% in ’07,”Wall St. Journalat A4 (Jan. 4, 2008).80 C. Lakeet al., “Analysis of 2008 Swing Voters and the American Dream,” Lake Research Partners(survey of swing voters, about a third of voting population) (Dec. 10, 2007), www.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds28Entergy StatesRemarkably, despite all these hardships, Entergy’s low-income customers are actuallymore consistent than others in paying their bills. Entergy’s “low-income customers,especially the elderly, had BETTER PAYMENT RECORDS and FEWERUNCOLLECTIBLES than other residential customer segments.” In fact, “most of those[uncollectibles] are attributable to small business customers.”81In addition to the overall picture of poverty painted above, each of the Entergy states hasits own particular characteristics.ArkansasoIn the early 2000’s, the richest 20 percent of Arkansans had average incomes 6.9times higher than the poorest 20 percent, up from 5.4 times in the 1980’s. Duringthat same time period, the income of the lowest 20 percent rose an average of$135 per year, while that of the richest 20 percent rose $1,740 per year.82oMore than 40 percent of children aged birth-to-17 live in a household wheresomeone smokes; over 16 percent of children have been uninsured during the pastyear; and fewer than 50 percent had both a medical and dental preventivescreening during the year.83oOver 14 percent of Arkansans go hungry, about one in seven, 44th in the nation.84oOn any given night, an estimated 7400 Arkansans are homeless.85o5.7 percent of Arkansans were “officially” unemployed as of October 2007, notcounting all of those who were “underemployed.”86Changetowin.org/fileadmin/pdf/amerdream-dec2007-memo.pdf; Change to Win (partnership of ServiceEmployees International Union, Teamsters, United Farm Workers, and four other unions), “New Analysisfrom Lake Research Partners Shows 2008 Could be Watershed Election,”www.changetowin.org/for-the-media/press-releases-and-statements/new-analysis-from-lake-research-partners-shows-2008-could-be-watershed-election.html; Bob Herbert, “Nightmare Before Christmas,”New York Times (Dec. 22, 2007).This fear may already be coming true – the inflation-adjusted median income for a man in his 30s (a goodpredictor of lifetime earnings) is twelve percent less than 30 years ago. J. Mortonet al., “EconomicMobility: Is the American Dream Alive and Well?” at 5-6 (Economic Mobility Project [Pew CharitableTrusts, American Enterprise Institute, Brookings Institution, Heritage Foundation, Urban Institute], 2007),www.economicmobility.org/reports_and_research/?id=0001.81 Wally Nixon, “Affordable Service and Utility Profit – What Utilities Don’t Know Can Hurt Them” at 6,7 (presentation to Mid-America Regulatory Conference, Little Rock, 2005; citing research at LouisianaState University; emphasis in original).82 “Pulling Apart: A State-by State Analysis of Income Trends,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities(Jan. 2006).83 Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (2005); 2003 National Survey of Children’s Health,Data Resource Center on Child and Adolescent Health, www.childhealthdata.org.84 M. Nordet al., “Household Food Security in the United States, 2006” at Table 7 (USDA EconomicResearch Service, 2007). (2004-2006 average, includes District of Columbia).85 Arkansas Human Services, Office of Community Services, http://www.arkansas.gov/dhs/dco/ocs/.86 BLS, LAU Current Unemployment Rates for States and Historical Highs/Lows, Oct. 2007 (seasonallyadjusted).Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds29o45 percent of Arkansans live on incomes that are below 200 percent of the federalpoverty level (“FPL”), and the median household income is only 76 percent thatof the US.87o15 percent of Arkansans live in a home with no telephone – nearly twice thenumber in the US as a whole.88oThe average LIHEAP heating grant in 2007 was $111; a client could receive up to$300 in crisis money for cooling assistance.89LouisianaoIn the early 2000’s, the richest 20 percent of Louisianans had average incomes 7.6times higher than the poorest 20 percent, up from 6.3 times in the 1980’s. Duringthat same time period, the income of the lowest 20 percent rose an average of $70per year, while that of the richest 20 percent rose $1,220 per year.90oWhile the overall poverty rate in the state is 19 percent (49th in the US),91 the ratein rural, as opposed to urban, Louisiana parishes is over 24 percent.92oMore than one quarter of all Louisiana children (under 18 years old) lived inpoverty in 2003, with more than half of those living in extreme poverty (definedas income below 50 percent of the poverty level).93oLouisiana ranked in the bottom 20 percent of the states in a number of childhealth-related measures: number 49 in percent of low-birth-weight babies; 48 ininfant mortality; and 47 in the child death rate (33 per 100,000).94oWhile the LIHEAP income threshold is the highest at 60 percent of state medianincome, less than six percent of eligible customers received heating assistance in2006.95oThere were nearly 7000 homeless people at any given day in Louisiana in 2006;of those, 981 were chronically homeless, and 1256 were severely mentally ill.96oThe homeless population in parts of Louisiana outside of New Orleans has risensince Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and is expected to rise further once all FEMApayments for hotels and trailers end.97o“Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana continues toexperience an 80 percent increase in need in its 23 south Louisiana parishes for87 US Census, www.factfinder.census.gov.88 US Census, www.factfinder.census.gov.89 LIHEAP Clearinghouse, www.liheapch.acf.hhs.gov/profiles/Arkansas.htm.90 “Pulling Apart: A State-by State Analysis of Income Trends,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities(Jan. 2006).91 Annie E Casey Foundation, “Kids Count.”92 “Louisiana’s Rural Poverty,” Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, www.lsuagcenter.com.93 “Louisiana Solutions to Poverty: Engaging Ideas, Empowering People, Enhancing Lives” at 8,Governor’s Summit STOP Report (2005).94 “Louisiana Solutions to Poverty: Engaging Ideas, Empowering People, Enhancing Lives” at 8,Governor’s Summit STOP Report (2005).95http://www.neada.org/publications/issuebriefs/LIHEAP_Issue_Brief_2007-11-26.pdf.96HUD's 2006 Continuum of Care Homeless Assistance Programs: Homeless Populations andSubpopulations, http://170.97.67.13/offices/cpd/homeless/local/la/reports/2006_la_pop_sub.pdf.97 “Louisiana: Katrina Shifts Homeless Population,” http://www.drug-rehabs.org/con.php?cid=3154&state=Louisiana.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds30food since the landfalls of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita due to the number ofpeople in need for the first time and the complete disruption of the infrastructureof south Louisiana….” Yet “The federal nutrition assistance to the state ofLouisiana has been cut by 30 percent based on suspect population numbers.”98More than 14 percent of Louisianans – about one in seven – go hungry, 45th in thenation.99New OrleansAlthough a city of Louisiana, New Orleans has characteristics unlike any other city in theentire United States. The catastrophic effects of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 have radicallychanged the portrait of this unique world.oWhile Louisiana as a whole has a poverty rate of 19 percent, New Orleans’ ratewas over 22 percent in 2006; in 2004, before Katrina, the poverty rate was 27percent,100 showing that it was the poor who were disproportionately affected bydisplacement.oAfter Hurricane Katrina, only 56 percent of the population that had lived there in2000 had returned by July 2007; but the return rate was very uneven, rangingfrom 93 percent of the Garden District residents to only seven percent of those inthe Lower Ninth Ward.101oBefore Katrina, 59 percent of residents of the predominantly Black Lower NinthWard owned their own homes, even though 40 percent did not have a high schooldiploma or GED.102oIn the school year after Katrina, 2005-2006, 20,000 to 30,000 K-12 students fromNew Orleans did not attend school at all; up to 15,000 missed school thefollowing year; Katrina did $6.2 billion damage to K-12 schools; and two dozencolleges and universities were closed.103oPre-Katrina, most three- and four-year-old children were in some form of childcare, nursery or pre-school; after Katrina, only one-third of the city’s licensedchild care centers had re-opened, and they served only 27 percent of the pre-hurricane number of children. The federal government’s response has been tocommit only $2.5 billion through the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year –about what it spends on the Iraq war every 10 days.10498 “LFBA seeking state help to stave off looming hunger crisis,” The Louisiana Weekly (April 23, 2007).99 M. Nordet al., “Household Food Security in the United States, 2006” at Table 7 (USDA EconomicResearch Service, 2007). (2004-2006 average, includes District of Columbia).100 US Census CPS; factfinder.census.gov.101 GCR & Associates, Inc., “Population Estimates for Orleans Parish, July 2007, presented at the EntergyNew Orleans 2007 Low-Income Summit, “New Orleans Revival” (Oct. 2007).102 Peter Wagner and Susan Edwards, “New Orleans by the Numbers,” Dollars and Sense, EconomicAffairs Bureau (2007).103 “Education after Katrina: Time for a New Federal Response” at 3-4, Southern Education Foundation(2007).104 “Education after Katrina: Time for a New Federal Response” at 15, Southern Education Foundation(2007).Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds31oEven after losing many of its poor, the median income in New Orleans in 2006,$35,859, put the city among the ranks of the poorest in the country.105oBefore Hurricane Katrina, most people in New Orleans were renters, but over50,000 rental units were destroyed, while rents in the remaining units shot up byalmost 50 percent. Over 27,500 live in government issued trailers throughout thestate, while perhaps thousands are homeless106oVacancy rates in blue-collar jobs in post-Katrina New Orleans have risen(cleaning and maintenance up from 4.1 percent to 13.1 percent; restaurant sectorjobs from 3.6 percent to 13.4 percent; other services from 6.3 percent to 16.7percent) because workers cannot afford to live in the City.107oWhile in the US as a whole ten percent of households do not own a car, in theLower Ninth Ward, that figure was 32 percent pre-Katrina.108MississippioIn the early 2000’s, the richest 20 percent of Mississippians had average incomes7.1 times higher than the poorest 20 percent, up from 5.8 times in the 1980’s.During that same time period, the income of the lowest 20 percent rose an averageof $115 per year, while that of the richest 20 percent rose $1,480 per year.109oMississippi is the poorest state in the nation, with over 20 percent of itspopulation living below the federal poverty line, including 30 percent of itschildren, and a median income below $35,000 a year.110oNearly 23 percent of elderly Mississippians live in poverty, despite receivingSocial Security income.111o14 percent of Mississippi children under 17 are uninsured,112oOver 18 percent of its people – nearly one in five – are hungry at any given time,the second highest rate of “food insecurity” in the country, including more than226,000 children under 18.113oOnly 77.9 percent of Mississippians had a high school diploma in 2006, putting itlast in the nation; only 18.8 percent had a bachelor’s degree or higher.114oMississippi’s unemployment rate is just over six percent, the highest in any of theEntergy states.115105 US Census, www.factfinder.census.gov.106 Leslie Eaton, “So Many Places to Live, But So Far Out of Reach”, NY Times National at 17 (Jan. 27,2008).107 John Moreno Gonzales, “New Orleans working class hit by cost squeeze: Wages up, but so are rent,utilities,” Boston Sunday Globe at A8 (Jan. 27, 2008).108 Peter Wagner and Susan Edwards, “New Orleans by the Numbers,” Dollars and Sense, EconomicAffairs Bureau (2007).109 “Pulling Apart: A State-by State Analysis of Income Trends,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities(Jan. 2006).110 US Census, www.factfinder.census.gov; Annie E. Casey Foundation, “Kids Count”.111 Center on Budget Policy and Priorities (CBPP) from US Census112 Annie E. Casey Foundation, “Kids Count”.113 M. Nordet al., “Household Food Security in the United States, 2006” at Table 7 (USDA EconomicResearch Service, 2007). (2004-2006 average, includes District of Columbia).; Patti Drapala, “Students bagsweet potatoes for MSU hunger campaign” at 30, MSU Ag Communications (Nov. 1, 2007).114 US Census, factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACS 2006.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds32oLess than 20 percent of eligible customers received LIHEAP assistance in 2006,and the average benefit was only $250.116Texas (Beaumont)oIn the early 2000’s, the richest 20 percent of Texans had average incomes 8.1times higher than the poorest 20 percent, up from 6.2 times in the 1980’s. Duringthat same time period, the income of the lowest 20 percent rose an average of $70per year, while that of the richest 20 percent rose $3,830 per year.117oIn 2006, 20 percent of Beaumont residents lived below the FPL, including elevenpercent of the elderly118 and over 30 percent of children under 18.119oThe poverty rate in Jefferson County, of which Beaumont is the County Seat, roseten percent between 2000 and 2007, to 18.7 percent.120oIn Southeast Texas, a family of four would need to earn almost $12,000 above thefederal poverty level to afford the basics of housing, food, child care, health careand transportation. Without employer-provided health insurance, that familywould need an annual income of at least $45,000.121oThe median household income in Beaumont in 2006 was $40,072, compared withthat of Texas generally of $44,922.122oNearly 18 percent of Beaumont residents over 25 did not have a high schooldiploma in 2006, ranking it second to the bottom nationally, and 21 percent had abachelor’s degree or higher.123115 Bureau of Labor Statistics,LAU Current Unemployment Rates for States and Historical Highs/Lows,Oct. 2007 (seasonally adjusted).116http://www.neada.org/publications/issuebriefs/LIHEAP_Issue_Brief_2007-11-26.pdf.117 “Pulling Apart: A State-by State Analysis of Income Trends,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities(Jan. 2006).118 US Census ACS,http://factfinder.census.gov.119 CityBloc.com, Beaumont Data, Statistics, Facts and Figures.120 Rose Ybarra, “Number of Child deaths on the rise in Jefferson County,” The Beaumont Enterprise (Dec.10, 2007).121 Dan Wallach, “How much does a Southeast Texas family need to live on?” The Beaumont Enterprise(Aug. 31, 2007).122 US Census ACS,http://factfinder.census.gov.123 US Census ACS,http://factfinder.census.gov .Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds33Measures of Poverty in the Entergy States and the United StatesU.S.ArkansasLouisianaNew OrleansMississippiTexas(Beaumont)Median Household Income 2006 $ 48,451 $ 36,599 $ 39,337$35,859 $ 34,473 $ 40,072% people living below 100% FPL in 200613.3%17.30%19.0%22.2%21.1%18.5%Children under 18 below 100% FPL18.3%24.3%28%41.9%30%28%Children under 18 below 150% FPL29.0%37%39%NA44%37% (1)% People living below 200% FPL in 200636%45%39%NA49%43% (1)Elderly Poor (over 65 below 100% FPL)13.0%15.0%14.0%12.2%23.0%18% (1)Working parents without health insurance (2003)24.8%16.2%22.6%NA27.5%34.7% (1)Children under 17 without health insurance (2005)11%9%10%NA14%20% (1)Food Insecurity (Hunger) 2004-200611.30%14.3%14.4%NA18.1%15.9% (1)% Chidren in low-income families with no telephone (2005)9%15%12%15%18%11% (1)Unemployment levels (Oct. 2007)4.4%5.7%3.3%3.1%6.1%4.9%% over 25 with high school diploma84.1%80.5%79.4%81.6%77.9%81.4%Low-income renters with housing costs over 50% ofhousehold income38.3%32.4%37.7%NA38.5%38.1%% of people living below EPI Basic Family BudgetNA27%28%28%30%35%% Eligible receiving LIHEAP heating assistance23%30.4%5.7%NA19.1%1.9% (1)Leveraged energy funds per person5.97$0.58$0.19$0.13$0.17$% leveraged by state vs US10%3%2%3%(1) State of TexasSources: US Census, factfinder.census.gov/home, http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/saipe/index.html; LIHEAP Issue Brief http://www.neada.org/; BLS, LAU Current Unemployment Rates for States; US Dept. of Labor, www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm, 11/28/2007; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Economic Policy Institute, www.epi.org/content.cfm/datazone_dzlocalOppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds34V. PUBLIC POLICY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCEWhat Public Policy Can Do to Foster Energy AffordabilityLow-income energy affordability is one of the most potent tools states have to stimulatethe economy and soften income disparities, while providing to everyone benefits that farexceed the investment. Across the Entergy jurisdictions, investments in low-incomeenergy efficiency would produce an economic impact that ismore than 23 times theoriginal investment. Much of the economic impact is driven by the creation of jobsthroughout the region –216 jobs for every million dollars of investment.Eliminating or diminishing the energy crisis of poor people is an extremely cost-effectiveway to fight poverty and move people toward self-sufficiency. When people can meettheir essential energy needs, they can then address other fundamental problems, such ashunger, education, health care and employment. Such investments can lower the burdenscurrently placed on charitable resources, and support federal and state anti-povertyefforts. It is impossible to address poverty without addressing energy use and costs.Anti-poverty investments such as energy efficiency can also help attack the hopelessnessthat may underlie a “generational poverty gap.” Research has shown that individualstrapped in poverty for two or more generations live by rules that are often misunderstoodby those who design programs to help alleviate that poverty.124 By partnering withcommunity action agencies that understand these “rules”, state public utility policy canbe a force for breaking through the despair and establishing new behavior patterns thatwill better serve the participating families and the community as a whole. Meeting energyproblems with energy efficiency, for instance, teaches the ability to make choices thatmake a difference and the value of planning for the future. Saving for homeownership orhigher education through an Individual Development Account while learning financialmanagement skills can be a first step on the road to self-sufficiency. “[M]aybe the bestway to break the cycle of poverty is to raise the hopes and expectations of the poor byputting them closer to the goal line.”125Despite the gloomy statistics cited above, there are glimmers of hope in the Entergystates. A majority of young children in each state attend pre-school, includingkindergarten, Head Start, or Early Start programs.126 Prior research we did showed that ahigh-quality pre-school education could return at least nine dollars to society for every124 Kerri McCormick, “Fact Sheet:Generational vs. Situational Poverty and the Hidden Rules” (WestVirginia University 2003), www.ext.wvu.edu/cyfar/rut/hiddenrules.htm.125 S. Pearlstein, “On Poverty, Maybe We’re All Wrong,”Washington Post at D1 (Aug. 29, 2007), citingphilosophy professor C. Karelis (George Washington University),The Persistence of Poverty.126 Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (2005); 2003 National Survey of Children’sHealth, Data Resource Center on Child and Adolescent Health, www.childhealthdata.org.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds35dollar spent.127 Over 90 percent of children between the ages of one and 17 have medicalinsurance in each of the states except Texas (where the figure is 83 percent).128Success Begins in ArkansasIn Arkansas, in a process sponsored by the Arkansas Public Service Commission,Entergy took a lead role, along with the Arkansas Community Action AgencyAssociation (ACAAA), Arkansas Western Gas and others, to develop and implement theArkansas Weatherization Program (AWP). While homeowners of all income levels areeligible for the AWP, it is implemented through the network of agencies that implementthe US Department of Energy Weatherization Assistance Program (DOE WAP) and isfree to qualifying low-income customers.129 The AWP follows the protocols of the DOEWAP, a program which has made a real difference in the lives of program recipients. Forexample:130(cid:120)An 81-year-old Entergy customer in Little Rock was able to stay in his home dueto the weatherization program. A widower, father of two daughters, and retiredgardener for a dairy, said his energy savings after weatherization by the CentralArkansas Development Council (CADC) enabled him to pay for neededimprovements, including storm doors, a driveway and sidewalk, and trimming oftrees. “I wouldn’t even have a house…I couldn’t afford to live, pay my bills” if itweren’t for the weather stripping, caulking, replacing of windows, insulation ofwalls and ceiling and other work, he said, adding that he pays a third less forenergy now.(cid:120)An 81-year-old woman in Arkansas wrote a letter of gratitude to the localcommunity action agency after it had weatherized her home and provided safetyequipment, including smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. She mentioned thaton a cold April night, an alarm went off and a woman’s voice screamed“Warning! Carbon Monoxide!” about every 20 seconds after she had tried to heather house by lighting flames on her kitchen stove. She went on to say that “I haveno doubt that without the installation of the alarm by the weatherization people,our 9-1-1 emergency service and our on-the-ball firemen, I would not be amongthe living today.” She went on to say, “Thank you. I had a chance to benefit frommany of the weatherization people’s efforts…the carbon monoxide detector savedmy life, and I’m certainly grateful for that; thank you.”(cid:120)Two letters to the Ozark Opportunities, Inc., community action agency are typicalof many received:127 J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor, “The Economics of Education: Public Benefits of High-QualityPreschool Education for Low-Income Children” at 1 (Entergy Corp., n.d. [2002]),http://www.democracyandregulation.com/detail.cfm?artid=37&row=5.128 Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (2005); 2003 National Survey of Children’sHealth, Data Resource Center on Child and Adolescent Health, www.childhealthdata.org.129 The 50 percent co-payment of the AWP is, for low-income customers, paid by the DOE WAP.130 Our thanks to Ludwik Kozlowski, Energy Coordinator of ACAAA, who gathered these stories (Jan.2008).Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds36o“I’m writing you to let you know how pleased I am with the work that wasdone to my home. The windows and new front door stopped air leaks, andthe insulation under my floors has made my floors stay warm. I use lessheat, and I’m sure I will see a BIG difference in my cooling bills. I’m soelated with it all! And the workers were so pleasant. Thank you so verymuch for the help in weatherizing! I’m deeply grateful!”o“I want to thank you for the blessings you have given us a few weeks ago.We received all-new windows, a wood stove and new storm door. Ourhome for the first time is so comfortable. No unwanted air coming in. Wearen’t burning half the wood we used to and we’re staying warm. What ablessing. We could not have done any of this on our own. God bless.”And in TexasThere are signs in Southeast Texas that the economy may be about to improve. A groupcalled the “Industrial Workforce Alliance,” composed of businesses (including Entergy),non-profits and other faith-based organizations, colleges and universities, has begun workon recruiting, training, and hiring workers to meet a growing economy over the next threeyears. Jobs in manufacturing and other industry, construction and engineering, medicaland healthcare fields, logistics and distribution, retail, hospitality, call centers, financialservices and hurricane repair will require up to 28,500 new workers by the end of 2010,also taking into account the retirement of many of the baby boomers during that timeperiod. The area faces challenges in meeting its employment goals, including a housingshortage, lack of adequate transportation services for many new workers, and youngpeople leaving Southeast Texas or not staying in school to receive a diploma or to go onto higher education. The Alliance has a strategy for overcoming these obstacles and ismoving forward with funding, education and training sessions in order to meet theseambitious targets for Southeast Texas.131But for the Southeast Texas low-income population, the outlook is still bleak. Many low-income people want to improve their homes and save money on utilities, but they simplydo not know where to turn. They carry an enormous energy burden and must choosebetween utilities, groceries and medicine. The partnership of Entergy and the DOE WAP,with implementation by agencies such as Programs for Human Services in SoutheastTexas, seeks to eliminate, or at least reduce, these kinds of burdens for clients. TheWeatherization Program offers Entergy customers long-term solutions to their highenergy consumption and financial burdens, enabling them to maintain their sense ofresponsibility and independence while keeping their homes temperate, especially duringthe summers when cooling is needed so badly.132What follows is a sampling of Entergy customers who have been helped by theWeatherization Program:131 Presentation on the Industrial Workforce Alliance by the Southeast Texas Workforce DevelopmentBoard (Oct. 25, 2007).132 Our thanks toConnie Gray, Housing & Energy Coordinator, Program for Human Services, Inc., Orange,TX, who gathered these stories (Jan. 2008).Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds37A disabled 84-year-old woman received weatherization services that allowed her andthree great grandchildren to stay at home without fearing for their health and safety. Anew front door, oversize peep sight, and deadbolt and entry lock keep them sleepingsoundly at night knowing that they are secure. And replacing their inefficient airconditioner and heater, adding attic and wall insulation, and repairing holes in walls andceilings lowered their utility bills.One customer wrote: “…[W]e … wish to express our heart-felt gratitude to each andevery one of you for whatever role that you played in replacing our central unit andproviding the weatherization services. Again, thank you and may God's grace be uponeach and every one of you, forever and ever, Amen. Our family will continue to pray thatyour organization will continue to prosper, in order to be there for others, as you were forus. Thank you, again.”Entergy and its partners in the community, including community action and other serviceagencies, churches, Habitat for Humanity, local and state lawmakers, the American RedCross, the Salvation Army, Councils on Aging, and others, have been addressing theproblem of energy affordability for some time. Entergy has looked for ways to worktogether with others to develop effective solutions to the problem.133 Entergy hascommitted to making energy more affordable for its low-income customers. To that end,Entergy has instituted Low-Income Summits in all of its jurisdictions, developedinformation and education programs, and participated in employee voluntaryweatherization programs. Entergy has been especially active in providing energyeducation to its low-income customers:134oIn Texas, Entergy instituted its “Coffee Breaks” program to provide educationalmaterials to advocates working together;oIn Louisiana, after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Entergy held six regionalsummits to assess needs and disseminate information;oEntergy distributes the “Advocate Power” newsletter to 20,000 low-incomeadvocates, providing information and references; andoEntergy partners with faith-based organizations to share information and recruitvolunteers for weatherization projects.Entergy also provides grants primarily to support weatherization activities such as theEntergy Charitable Foundation for non-profit conservation funding; grants to low-income champions within each service territory that are dispersed to local CAPs; and arevolving loan fund in Louisiana for new home construction.135These are laudable efforts but, as Entergy recognizes and is committed to addressing,much more needs to be done to begin to make energy affordable. But there is only so133 Linda Barnes, “Entergy reaches out to those hardest to reach,” presentation to Chartwell’s AudioConference on Best Practices in Reaching Low-Income Customers with Energy Efficiency Programs (Oct.18, 2006).134 Barnes (2006).135 Barnes (2006).Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds38much one corporation can accomplish; scale is needed for impact. These efforts point thedirection for public policy and represent an excellent point from which to begin to breakthe poverty cycle. Public utilities such as Entergy generally have excellent relationshipswith their customers and with stakeholders interested in moving programs forward tohelp low-income customers afford their energy bills. In addition, there is a foundationinfrastructure in place already, including federal fuel assistance and weatherizationprograms, that can be used as a springboard from which to launch partnership programsestablished by public policy and funded by ratepayers. Most importantly, the design andtesting of successful programs has already been done, both in other states and inEntergy’s own service territories in Arkansas and Texas, as described above.136The most effective models include a well-trained, highly qualified, stable staff andinfrastructure to deliver services, and implementers trusted by the community. Severalstates have chosen to implement state-wide programs, so that consistent, comprehensive,well-coordinated energy efficiency and education services are available to all low-incomecitizens within the states, through coordinated, but decentralized, delivery. The AWP inArkansas, described above, is open to all qualifying residential customers – not simplylow-income customers. The customers in all of Entergy’s other service territories deserveaccess to similar programs. In Appendix C, we discuss some successful paymentaffordability and energy efficiency program designs. As shown in Section II above, bothaffordability and energy efficiency programs are extremely cost-effective ways from asocietal point of view to reduce the energy burden faced by low-income customers.Historic TrendsHistoric poverty trends with and without public policy targeted at poverty shows thatpublic policy, including low-income efficiency and assistance investments, candramatically reduce poverty. “The relative decline in [even] the median income in the USis a problem. … [Reversing this decline] needs to be underpinned by two legs:programmes that help individuals make employment transitions, and solid safety nets andassured access to basic services such as education and healthcare. … To have an openeconomy we may need a more protective one than we have had in the recent past.”137The U.S. Census has tracked the incidence of the American population with incomesbelow the Federal Poverty Line (FPL) since 1959, when almost a quarter of Americans(22.4 percent) were classified as poor. It is therefore possible to track this one statisticacross the varying policy approaches to poor people, from the War on Poverty to periodsof what could be charitably described as benign neglect.138 The reality of poverty is136 The Entergy Texas program has been temporarily suspended and is expected to resume.137 D. Leipziger (vice president, World Bank) and M. Spence (senior fellow, Hoover Institution),“Globalisation’s losers need support,”Financial Times at 11 (May 15, 2007).138 The data have been collected in 35 tables, covering everything from poverty to health insurance toregional, gender, and age differences, by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP).www.cbpp.org/10-19-05pov.htm. Since it is FPL data that are published, it is the assumption of this sectionthat the trends are substantially the same at true levels of poverty (but not the absolute numbers, of course).Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds39worse than pictured by these data, since the FPL in fact has increasingly understatedpoverty as time has passed.139The federal War on Poverty itself dramatically slashed official poverty rates, from 22.1percent in 1960 to 12.1 percent in 1969 – a drop of 10 percentage points, or 46 percent ofthe starting poverty rate. Similarly, federal policies in the 1990s of economic expansionand reducing inequality saw official poverty reduced from 15.1 percent in 1993 down to11.7 percent in 2001 – a drop of 3.4 percentage points, or a 22.5 percent improvement. Incontrast, the federal neglect of the poor for many of the years between 1969 and 1993increased the official poverty rate from 12.1 percent to 15.1 percent and similar federalneglect after 1993 brought the official rate from 11.7 percent to 13.3 percent.US Poverty Rate0.0%5.0%10.0%15.0%20.0%25.0%2006200420022000199919971995199319911989198719851983198119791977197519731971196919671965196319611959Source: US CensusWhile it is obvious that public policy thus makes a difference in the poverty rate, it ismuch more difficult to quantify the difference made by a particular set of public policies.Further, it is probable that defeating poverty becomes more difficult as success brings thepoverty rate down. It is not difficult to imagine, however, that an eight-year set of publicpolicies directed toward eradicating poverty could be at least as successful as the moregeneral growth and equality policies of the 1990s,i.e., an improvement of at least 22.5percent -- perhaps more in the states and cities with above-average poverty rates. If 22.5percent improvement were achieved from the base year of 2006, the resulting povertyrates would be as follows:139 The reasons for this are described in footnote 50.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds40200622.5% lowerUS13.3%10.3%Arkansas17.3%13.4%Louisiana19.0%14.7%New Orleans22.2%17.2%Mississippi21.1%16.4%Beaumont area, Texas18.5%14.3%This would certainly leave much more to be done to eradicate poverty, but it wouldachieve the lowest national poverty rate recorded and thus be a very good start.Current Anti-Poverty ProgramsAn important part of anti-poverty public policy since the energy crises of the 1970s hasbeen energy-related – the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program,140 thefederal Weatherization Assistance Program,141 and state-mandated assistance andefficiency programs.142 As shown in Section II of this report, low-income energyprograms not only help reduce poverty, but are also immensely cost-effective for theentire economy.Another low-income program with a very large pay-off for both low-income householdsand the society at large is education. We have shown, for example, that investments inpre-school education of three-and four-year old children from low-income familiesreturns more than $9 for every dollar spent.143 Early education increases learning ability,which increases high school and college graduation rates, which results in better jobs athigher salaries. Full-time, year-round workers without a high school diploma earn morethan 30 percent less than those with a diploma. In the period 2000-2005, only those withdoctorates or the equivalent (including MBAs) enjoyed income increases that outpacedinflation.144 In addition to the obvious benefit for the children who are educated, societyreaps rewards in the form of lower welfare and unemployment payments, lower publicand private medical costs, higher income and other tax revenue, reduced burdens on the140 First enacted in 1974 as Project Fuel (Office of Economic Opportunity).www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/liheap/library/history.html#74-79. LIHEAP was first enacted by P.L. 96-223 in1981.Id.;http://www.liheapch.acf.hhs.gov/Funding/lhhist.htm.141 First enacted in 1975 as Emergency Energy Conservation Program (Community ServicesAdministration).www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/liheap/library/history.html#74-79. WAP was enacted in 1977.http://www.liheapch.acf.hhs.gov/Funding/lhhist.htm. It is codified at 42 USC sec. 6861.Seewww.eere.energy.gov/weatherization, www.waptac.org/sp.asp?id=1437.142 LIHEAP Clearinghouse, State Leveraging FY 2006 (May 2007),http://liheap.ncat.org/tables/FY2006/06stlvtb.htm.143 J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor, “The Economics of Education: Public Benefits of High-QualityPreschool Education for Low-Income Children” (Entergy Corp., n.d. [2002]),http://www.democracyandregulation.com/detail.cfm?artid=37&row=5.144 D. Wessel, “Why It Takes a Doctorate to Beat Inflation,”Wall St. Journal at A2 (Oct. 19, 2006) (basedon US Census CPS).Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds41criminal justice and special education systems, and multiplier effects of all these benefits.Later on, job training can also be important.Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) are another important strategy to help familiesescape poverty.145 In 2002, Entergy partnered with the Foundation for the Mid South(FMS) to develop the first multi-state initiative to foster IDA’s in Arkansas, Louisiana,Mississippi, and later Southeast Texas.146 Arkansas had enacted an IDA program bystatute in 1999, funded by federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)dollars through the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services.147It is very difficult for low-income families, who do not have sufficient income foressentials, to escape poverty by saving. So IDAs provide matching funds (usually a 100-300 percent match, but sometimes more)148 as an incentive to working low-incomefamilies to set aside savings for specific asset-building purposes, such as owning orrepairing a home, obtaining an education, or establishing a business. Financial and othercounseling is usually part of the program. The first careful evaluation of the IDAapproach found that the program made a significant contribution to narrowing the home-ownership gap between Blacks and whites; Black home-ownership (compared tocontrols) rose by ten percentage points. Other participants “experienced a substantialincrease in business equity relative to controls.” For those who were alreadyhomeowners, education was often a priority: “the likelihood of taking non-degree classesrose sharply” and computer purchases rose by 30 percentage points, even though theywere not covered by matching funds.149Through April 2006, the state-funded Arkansas IDA program helped 570 families buildassets, including 117 who purchased homes, 228 who renovated homes, 154 whoattended institutions of higher learning, and 71 who invested in new or existingbusinesses. “Beyond helping low-income families acquire tangible assets, [participantsexperienced] increased self-sufficiency, or in other words, less use of public assistance ofvarious sorts. … 55 percent of program graduates who had previously received publicassistance no longer receive such assistance. … More funding for IDAs needs to beprovided so that IDAs are available in every county of the state.”150 In Louisiana, 1029completed financial education programs; 895 completed asset training, 300 purchasedhomes, and 157 started or expanded a small business with help from IDA’s.151 However,145See e.g., US HHS, “Assets for Independence Program,”http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/afi/.146 “Changing Lives: An Investment in the Mid South,” at 1 (Foundation for the Mid-South, 2008),http://www.fndmidsouth.org/Documents/IDA_Changing_Lives_report.pdf.147 Arkansas Act 1217 of 1999, the Family Savings Initiative Act.148 Such matches are a much stronger incentive to save than are conventional tax deductions (e.g., forIndividual Retirement Accounts), especially since low-income tax rates are low or zero.149 W. G. Gale, “What Do Individual Development Accounts Do? Evidence from a Controlled Experiment”(Brookings Institution 2006),http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2006/0711housing_gale.aspx (program inTulsa 1998-2003).150 “Arkansas’ Individual Development Account (IDA) Program: Survey Shows Broad Impact,” PolicyPoints at 1, 4, 5 (Southern Good Faith Fund, vol. 28, Oct. 2006); see Annual Report of the ArkansasDepartment of Health and Human Services Individual Development Account Program, for State FiscalYear 2005 (Aug. 2005).151 IDA Collaborative of Louisiana Program Highlights, http://idacola.tulane.edu/program/highlights.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds42there has been only occasional state funding by Louisiana and Texas; none inMississippi.152 State funding is essential because “The primary obstacle to the continuedgrowth of IDAs in the region is obtaining financial support. … State funding and policiesprovide stability, allowing IDA programs to provide services on an ongoing (andultimately permanent) basis.”153 Entergy contributed $1.6 million to the Mid-South IDAinitiative, the largest fraction of the $15 million raised so far;154 the number of IDAaccounts there has almost doubled in five years.155Altogether, low-income programs have prevented poverty in America from being evenworse than it is. One estimate is that low-income programs have reduced the incidence ofpoverty by as much as 47 percent, particularly among the elderly.156 In addition to energyand education programs, most anti-poverty programs focus on health, nutrition, housing,or income. 157Health programs include Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program(SCHIP). They have reduced infant and childhood mortality, by 8.5 percent and 5.1percent, respectively, as well as increased treatment and screening – yet reducedpreventable hospitalization -- for such adult problems as cancer and chronic diseases.About 70 percent of Medicaid funds care for seniors and the disabled. Uninsured adultswho become insured by Medicare at age 65 regain half their health deficit by the timethey reach 70.158152 http://gwbweb. Wustl.edu/csd/policy/states/Louisiana.html, http://gwbweb.Wustl.edu/csd/policy/states/Mississippi.html, http://gwbweb. Wustl.edu/csd/policy/states/Texas.html;seeR, Miller, “Individual Development Accounts and Banks: A Solid ‘Match,’” at Table 1, FDIC Quarterly,www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/quarterly/2007_vol1/IDAs-and-banks.html.153 “Changing Lives: An Investment in the Mid South,” at 2, 17 (Foundation for the Mid-South, 2008),http://www.fndmidsouth.org/Documents/IDA_Changing_Lives_report.pdf. State funding includes taxcredits, Community Development Block Grants, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)allocations, and appropriations from general funds.Id. at 17.154Id. at 6, 15.155Id. at 12.156 A. Sherman, “Public Benefits: Easing Poverty and Ensuring Medical Coverage” at Table 2, p. 5 (Centeron Budget and Policy Priorities, 2005),www.cbpp.org/pubs/accomplishments.htm.157 Most of the foregoing (except where otherwise footnoted) is drawn from: Center on Budget and PolicyPriorities, “What does the Safety Net Accomplish?” (News Release, 2005); S. Parrotet al., “SelectedResearch Findings on Accomplishments of the Safety Net” (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2005);A. Sherman, “Public Benefits: Easing Poverty and Ensuring Medical Coverage” (Center on Budget andPolicy Priorities, 2005); all atwww.cbpp.org/pubs/accomplishments.htm; D. Riceand B. Sard, “The Effects Of The Federal Budget Squeeze On Low-Income Housing Assistance” (Centeron Budget and Policy Priorities, 2007),www.cbpp.org/2-1-07hous2.htm; AmericanPlanning Association, “Policy Guide on Homelessness” (2003),www.planning.org/policyguides/homelessness.htm; J. Oppenheim and T.MacGregor, “The Economics of Poverty: How Investments to Eliminate Poverty Benefit All Americans,”(Entergy Corp. n.d.[2006]),www.democracyandregulation.com/detail.cfm?artid=99&row=0.Seealso sources cited in these summaries.158 J.M. McWilliamsetal., “Health of Previously Uninsured Adults After Acquiring Medicare Coverage,”298Journal of the American Medical Association 2886 (Dec, 2007),http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/298/24/2886; E. Cooney, “Insurance makes a difference,”Boston Globe at C2(Dec. 31, 2007).Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds43The American health insurance system has developed largely without public policyguidance, the only significant exceptions being Medicare and Medicaid as part of the Waron Poverty in 1966. Although health insurance became available as early as 1847, it wasnot until the development of non-profit community hospital pre-payment systems (theprecursor to Blue Cross) in 1929 that health insurance became broadly available. Non-profit associations of doctors followed in 1939 (later becoming Blue Shield), thoughmostly to prevent what doctors saw as possible encroachment by hospitals and nationalhealth insurance. The success of the Blues, together with World War II wage controls thatencouraged employers’ offers of health insurance in lieu of pay increases, led to rapiddevelopment of commercial health insurance, though with price discrimination amongcustomers. By 1958, about 75 percent of Americans were thus covered by healthinsurance. But in 1962-63, only 62 percent of those 65 or over were covered – only 58percent of those not working. More than 99 percent of those over 65 are now covered,leaving about 16 percent of the population, primarily lower-income, without healthinsurance.159Nutrition programs include Food Stamps, Free and Reduced Price School Lunches(FRPL) and Breakfasts, and the Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, andChildren (WIC). Not surprisingly, these programs have been demonstrated to improvehealth, especially in children, and school performance. WIC alone saves $3.50 in healthcare costs for every dollar spent.Housing programs also improve health (by freeing up family funds for food andmedicine) and school performance and provide a foundation for steady employment. Theprograms include vouchers (“Section 8”), rent subsidies, project supports (including taxcredits), and public housing. Most cost-effectively, especially in this era of rapidly risingrents, housing programs avoid homeless expenditures that are much higher -- $15,000 peryear for individuals or $25,000 for families, as opposed to rent subsidies of $4500-$6000.Income supports for low-income people include some programs that also benefit others –Social Security and unemployment insurance, and worker’s compensation – as well asthe targeted programs of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the Earned Income TaxCredit (EITC), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, the successor toAid for Families with Dependent Children and welfare). Income supports have beenespecially effective at combatting poverty among the elderly, reducing the incidence of159 M. Thomason (Miami University), “Health Insurance in the United States,”http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/thomasson.insurance.health.us, G. Gleeson “Hospital and SurgicalInsurance Coverage, United States - 1968 (National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) 1972); P. Ahmed,“family Hospital and Surgical Insurance Coverage, United States - July 1962-June 1963” (NCHS1967);”Hospital and Surgical Insurance Coverage, United States – 1974” (NCHS 1977). NCHS documentsavailable atwww.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/series/ser.htm#sr10. M Broaddus et al, “Poverty,Income, and Health Insurance Coverage Tables” at Table 31 (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities 2005),www.cbpp.org/10-19-05pov.htm, from US Census, and subsequent Census data. The Census begancollecting health insurance data in 1987; before this time, data are incomplete and inconsistent.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds44elderly poverty by more than 80 percent. (For one thing, between Medicare andMedicaid, virtually all Americans over age 65 now have health insurance.) The incidenceof poverty among children has also been cut, although the percentage of children in deeppoverty (families with income below half the FPL) has risen to almost a third (31percent) from less than a quarter (23 percent). The EITC rewards work at low wages,helping to lift a minimum wage job towards the poverty line and encouraging more than ahalf million families to go to work.The minimum wage has been a tool for supporting the lowest incomes since 1938,although only in 1968 did a full-time job at the federal minimum wage reach 90 percentof the poverty level.160As shown in this chart, most of the inflation-adjusted increases in the minimum wagehave occurred in the periods 1960-1969 and 1993-2001.161160http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/anth484/minwage.html. Shown in 2007 dollars and a 2000 hour workyear.161 Data from www.epionline.org/mw_statistics_annual.cfm.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds45Tax policy, including the EITC mentioned above, has also been used, to a limited extent,to support those at the economic bottom. For example, since 1960, Federal tax rates forthe bottom 40 percent (including payroll and other taxes) have dropped from about 14percent to about ten percent. More significant have been much larger decreases at the top,particularly for the top one percent, partly reversed at the end of the 1960-1969 periodand the beginning of the 1993-2001 period. Since 1960, the tax rate for the top onepercent has fallen from 44.0 percent to 30.4 percent and the rate for the top 0.1 percentfrom 71.4 percent to 34.2 percent. The most recent tax cuts have been sharper at the topthan at the bottom.162 However, a consensus may be emerging that tax policy should beused more forcefully to support those struggling at the bottom.163The ability of the economy to provide jobs is another important measure of howsuccessful the economy is at preventing poverty. Long-term unemployment (six monthsor more) is particularly painful and here again the periods 1960-1969 and 1993-2001have been among the most successful at avoiding long-term unemployment:164Benefits often leave families still in poverty, and funding is often inadequate to cover allthose eligible for help. For some programs, already inadequate funding has been reduced.In some cases, most notably non-elderly individuals without children, there is very littlehelp available. One result is that American poverty rates are higher than others in theindustrialized world and supports for the poor are weaker. For example, U.S. programsare sufficient to raise only one low-income child in nine to 50 percent of the nation’smedian income, compared to one child in three in Canada and more than one child in twoin Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere. Theinadequate U.S. investment is difficult to understand since, as we have shown,162 A. Aron-Dine, “New Study Finds ‘Dramatic’ Reduction Since 1960 in the Progressivity of the FederalTax System: Largest Reductions in Progressivity Occurred in 1980s and Since 2000” (Center on Budgetand Policy Priorities 2007),www.cbpp.org/3-29-07tax.htm; based on T. Piketty (Prof. of economics, ParisSchool of Economics and E. Saez (Prof. of economics, University of California at Berkeley),http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~saez/jep-results-standalone.xls.163E.g., D. Wessel, “The Case for Taxing Globalization’s Big Winners,”Wall St. Journal at A2 (June 14,2007) (citing the proposal of a former advisor to President George W. Bush to eliminate the payroll taxbelow $33,000 and raise the tax on others); M. Whitehouse, “Why Americans Should Pay More Taxes: ANobel Winner’s View on Productive Economics,”Wall St. Journal at A2 (Oct. 16, 2006) (interview withEdmund Phelps: “I think economic justice is all about pay rates at the low end relative to those in themiddle. …I’ve been advocating a solution: subsidies that would be paid to companies for the ongoingemployment of low-wage workers. … Our Earned Income Tax Credit is a step in the same direction, butit’s aimed toward low-wage parents.”)164 www.bls.gov/webapps/legacy/cpsatab9.htm.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds46investments against poverty return at least four dollars for every dollar invested, andoften more.165165 J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor, “The Economics of Poverty: How Investments to Eliminate PovertyBenefit All Americans,” (Entergy Corp. n.d. [2006]),www.democracyandregulation.com/detail.cfm?artid=99&row=0.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds47VI. CONCLUSIONThe public record clearly shows that public policy is capable of substantially reducingpoverty. The programmatic approach of the War on Poverty and the jobs and tax policiesof the 1990s were especially effective.Confronting the low-income energy crisis is an extremely cost-effective way to reducepoverty and thus support families’ transition to self-sufficiency. Energy is such asignificant part of a family’s budget – government data show that some elderly recipientswho live on fixed incomes pay as much as 35%of their annual incomes for energy bills –that it is impossible to address poverty without addressing energy use and costs. Helpingfamilies permanently reduce their energy bills also attacks the hopelessness that povertyimposes by teaching that one can overcome poverty by planning, rather than passing it onto one’s children.Manufacturing plants may be one of the more effective public economic developmentinvestments – and public investments may well influence a specific location decisiononce a decision has been made to locate in a particular region.166 We do not necessarilysuggest that energy efficiency vs. manufacturing is an either-or proposition, butefficiency investments could make tax subsidies for manufacturing less important andcould thus save taxpayers from a portion of that expense while producing greaterbenefits. For example, a low-income program of one-third efficiency and two-thirdsassistance would be at least 20 percent more economically productive than investments inmanufacturing and create 50 percent more jobs.167Utility contributions in the Entergy states to low-income efficiency and assistance aresubstantially below the national average.168The way-above-average charitable contributions in Arkansas and Louisiana areimpressive and laudable, but not sufficient to replace what government policy provides inother states in the form of state expenditures and utility mandates. State public energypolicy is well-situated to help break the poverty cycle. State policy can build on theexisting energy assistance infrastructure (federal fuel assistance and weatherizationprograms, and private fuel funds), as well as on utility customer relationships. State166 Hill & Brahmst, “The Auto Industry Moving South: An Examination of Trends” (Center for AutomotiveResearch, 2003).167 Five leading states in the Northeast, midWest, and West -- Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Montana,and Oregon – allocate 24-30% of their local low-income energy resources to utility-funded energyefficiency, the balance to other forms of utility, charitable and state-funded cash assistance. Computed fromLIHEAP Clearinghouse, State Leveraging FY 2006 (May 2007),http://liheap.ncat.org/tables/FY2006/06stlvtb.htm.168 Computed from LIHEAP Clearinghouse, 2006 State-by-State Supplements to Energy Assistance andEnergy Efficiency (May 2007), http://www.liheap.ncat.org/Supplements/2006/supplement06.htm.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds48policy can facilitate public utility work with stakeholders to help poor families helpthemselves use energy more efficiently.Low-income energy efficiency is not commonly seen as a tool for economicdevelopment, yet this investment to fight poverty creates a powerful engine of economicopportunity for all. Low-income energy efficiency and assistance is a large lostopportunity for broad economic development.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds49APPENDIX A: ENTERGY JURISDICTIONSThe Economic Benefits of Combatting Poverty with Low-IncomeEnergy Efficiency in each Entergy JurisdictionARKANSASAlthough in many respects better off than the other Entergy service territories, Arkansasstill has a long way to go:Measures of Poverty in Arkansas vs the United StatesU.S.ArkansasMedian Household Income 2006 $ 48,451 $ 36,599Income rank among 50 states plus DC49% people living below 100% FPL in 200613.3%17.30%Children under 18 below 100% FPL18.3%24.3%Children under 18 below 150% FPL29.0%37%% People living below 200% FPL in 200636%45%Elderly Poor Despite Social Security8.7%11.8%Working parents without health insurance (2003)24.8%16.2%Children under 17 without health insurance (2005)11%9%Food Insecurity (Hunger) 2004-200611.30%14.3%% Chidren in low-income families with no telephone (2005)9%15%Unemployment levels (Oct. 2007)4.4%5.7%% over 25 with high school diploma84.1%80.5%Low-income renters with housing costs over 50% of household income38.3%32.4%% of people living below EPI Basic Family BudgetNA27%% Eligible receiving LIHEAP heating assistance23%30.4%Leveraged energy funds per person5.97$0.58$% leveraged by state vs US10% LIHEAP Issue Brief http://www.neada.org/; BLS, LAU Current Unemployment Rates for States; US Dept. of Labor, www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm, 11/28/2007; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Economic Policy Institute, www.eoi.org/content.cfm/datazone_dzlocalAs for state public policy supporting anti-poverty programs, a survey shows that:(cid:120)90 percent of Arkansans feel it is important to fund programs to help poorfamilies pay their utility bills,(cid:120)77 percent say government should help, andOppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds50(cid:120)72 percent feel that a state program should include contributions from business aswell as residential customers.169What more can be done?Arkansas has already adopted a low-income efficiency program, as described in the bodyof the paper. As this program develops, consideration should be given to ramping it up tofull scale (approximately double or more). In addition, Arkansas waives the sales tax onthe first 500 kWh of use for customers with less than $12,000 of income. Sales tax inArkansas is six percent state, up to 2.5 percent city, and up to 2.75 percent county.170Consideration should be given to a more generous discount, as well as to broadeningeligibility to the same standard as is used for low-income efficiency programs or forLIHEAP.Arkansas has also made excellent starts on non-energy anti-poverty programs such aspre-school education and Individual Development Accounts. Here again, additionalfunding is what is needed.The Economic Benefits of Low-income Efficiency and AssistanceInvestments171Investments in low-income efficiency, when multiplied through the Arkansas economy,yieldalmost 28 (27.7) times the investment, as well as 196 jobs for each million dollarsinvested. Public investments to attract high-paying manufacturing jobs also yield apositive benefit to the local economy – but, when analyzed in the same way, utilityinvestment in low-income energy efficiency yieldswell over quadruple (4.6 times) theeconomic benefit and almost three-and-a-half (3.4) times as many jobs. Even acombination of one-third long-term energy efficiency investment and two-thirds short-term emergency assistance would be a cost-effective way to break the back of poverty ina way that benefits the entire economy – 89 percent more economically productive thanpublic investment to attract manufacturing and generating 73 percent more jobs.169 Flake-Wilkerson Marketing Insights, “Low Income Energy Study” (Entergy Corp., based on Oct. 2002survey); Entergy Corp., “Arkansas Answers” (drawn from Flake-Wilkerson survey).170www.bankrate.com/brm/itax/edit/state/profiles/state_tax_Ark.asp,www.state.ar.us/dfa/excise_tax_v2/et_su_rates_ct.html,www.state.ar.us/dfa/excise_tax_v2/et_su_rates_co.html.171See Section II and Appendix B for methodology.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds51Arkansas MultipliersFor every $1,000,000 in investmentIncreased economic outputJobsENERGY EFFICIENCYNet effect of investment$349,7299Net effect of bill savings$8,963,63968Effect of environmental improvement$2,064,15912Effect of non-energy benefits$16,355,687107TOTAL$27,733,214196ASSISTANCENet effect of investment$1,430,64240Effect of non-energy benefits$1,997,84113TOTAL$3,428,48354MANUFACTURING PLANTNet effect of investment$8,741,75169Effect of environmental detriment-$2,699,312-10TOTAL$6,042,44058Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds52LOUISIANAIn most measures of poverty, Louisiana is near the bottom, not only compared to the restof the United States, but compared to the other Entergy service territories. Louisiana hasits own distinctive problems, as well, some due to the residual effects of the hurricanes of2005, Katrina and Rita.Measures of Poverty in Louisiana and the United StatesU.S.LouisianaMedian Household Income 2006 $ 48,451 $ 39,337Income rank among 50 states plus DC46% people living below 100% FPL in 200613.3%19.0%Children under 18 below 100% FPL18.3%28%Children under 18 below 150% FPL29.0%39%% People living below 200% FPL in 200636%39%Elderly Poor Despite Social Security8.7%12.6%Working parents without health insurance (2003)24.8%22.6%Children under 17 without health insurance (2005)11%10%Food Insecurity (Hunger) 2004-200611.30%14.4%% Chidren in low-income families with no telephone (2005)9%12%Unemployment levels (Oct. 2007)4.4%3.3%% over 25 with high school diploma84.1%79.4%Low-income renters with housing costs over 50% of household income38.3%37.7%% of people living below EPI Basic Family BudgetNA28%% Eligible receiving LIHEAP heating assistance23%5.7%Leveraged energy funds per person5.97$0.19$% leveraged by state vs US3%Sources: US Census, factfinder.census.gov/home, http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/saipe/index.html; LIHEAP Issue Brief http://www.neada.org/; BLS, LAU Current Unemployment Rates for States; US Dept. of Labor, www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm, 11/28/2007; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Economic Policy Institute, www.eoi.org/content.cfm/datazone_dzlocalAs for state public policy supporting anti-poverty programs, a survey shows that:(cid:120)91 percent of Louisianans feel it is important to fund programs to help poorfamilies pay their utility bills,(cid:120)80 percent say government should help, and(cid:120)72 percent feel that a state program should include contributions from business aswell as residential customers.172172 Flake-Wilkerson Marketing Insights, “Low Income Energy Study” (Entergy Corp., based on Oct. 2002survey); Entergy Corp., “Louisiana Answers” (drawn from Flake-Wilkerson survey).Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds53What more can be done?Louisiana has no state-mandated low-income efficiency program, nor does it have a low-income energy bill discount program. Both should be considered, with reasonablefunding and eligibility to the same standard as is used for LIHEAP. A reasonable low-income energy efficiency program need not cost average residential customers more thana dollar a month.173Similarly, Louisiana should consider reasonable and permanent funding for its non-energy anti-poverty programs such as pre-school education and Individual DevelopmentAccounts.The Economic Benefits of Low-income Efficiency and AssistanceInvestments174Investments in low-income efficiency, when multiplied through the Louisiana economy(excluding New Orleans), yieldmore than20 times the investment, as well as 223 jobsfor each million dollars invested. Public investments to attract high-paying manufacturingjobs also yield a positive benefit to the local economy – but, when analyzed in the sameway, utility investment in low-income energy efficiency yieldsmore than double (2.3times) the economic benefit and almost triple (2.8 times) the number of jobs. Even acombination of one-third long-term energy efficiency investment and two-thirds short-term emergency assistance would be a cost-effective way to break the back of poverty ina way that benefits the entire economy – five percent more economically productive thanpublic investment to attract manufacturing and generating 35 percent more jobs.173 J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor, “The Economics of Low-Income Electricity Efficiency Investment”(Entergy Corp., 2001); J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor, “Protecting Low-Income Consumers: Building onTwo Decades of Lessons Learned” (Entergy Corp, 2000, updated 2001); J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor,“Poverty in the Entergy Service Territories” (Entergy Corp., 2002).174See Section II and Appendix B for methodology.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds54Louisiana MultipliersFor every $1,000,000 in investmentIncreased economic outputJobsENERGY EFFICIENCYNet effect of investment$1,838,04819Net effect of bill savings$3,718,70370Effect of environmental improvement$1,816,30715Effect of non-energy benefits$12,766,717118TOTAL$20,139,775223ASSISTANCENet effect of investment$1,940,26937Effect of non-energy benefits$1,723,14116TOTAL$3,663,41053MANUFACTURING PLANTNet effect of investment$11,950,45294Effect of environmental detriment-$3,319,161-13TOTAL$8,631,29181Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds55NEW ORLEANSAlthough a city of Louisiana, New Orleans has characteristics unlike any other city in theentire United States. The catastrophic effects of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 have radicallychanged the portrait of this unique world.Measures of Poverty in New Orleans and the United StatesU.S.New OrleansMedian Household Income 2006 $ 48,451$35,859Income rank among 50 states plus DCNA% people living below 100% FPL in 200613.3%22.2%Children under 18 below 100% FPL18.3%41.9%Children under 18 below 150% FPL29.0%NA% People living below 200% FPL in 200636%NAElderly Poor Despite Social Security8.7%12.2%Working parents without health insurance (2003)24.8%NAChildren under 17 without health insurance (2005)11%NAFood Insecurity (Hunger) 2004-200611.30%NA% Chidren in low-income families with no telephone (2005)9%15%Unemployment levels (Oct. 2007)4.4%3.1%% over 25 with high school diploma84.1%81.6%Low-income renters with housing costs over 50% of household income38.3%NA% of people living below EPI Basic Family BudgetNA28%% Eligible receiving LIHEAP heating assistance23%NASources: US Census, factfinder.census.gov/home, http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/saipe/index.html; LIHEAP Issue Brief http://www.neada.org/; BLS, LAU Current Unemployment Rates for States; US Dept. of Labor, www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm, 11/28/2007; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Economic Policy Institute, www.eoi.org/content.cfm/datazone_dzlocalWhat can be done?New Orleans has no city-mandated low-income efficiency program, nor does it have alow-income energy bill discount program. Both should be considered, with reasonablefunding and eligibility to the same standard as is used for LIHEAP. A reasonable low-income energy efficiency program need not cost average residential customers more thana dollar a month.175175 J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor, “The Economics of Low-Income Electricity Efficiency Investment”(Entergy Corp., 2001); J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor, “Protecting Low-Income Consumers: Building onTwo Decades of Lessons Learned” (Entergy Corp, 2000, updated 2001); J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor,“Poverty in the Entergy Service Territories” (Entergy Corp., 2002).Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds56Similarly, New Orleans should consider reasonable and permanent funding for its non-energy anti-poverty programs such as pre-school education and Individual DevelopmentAccounts. The latter are especially important to hurricane recovery efforts.The Economic Benefits of Low-income Efficiency and AssistanceInvestments176Investments in low-income efficiency, when multiplied through the New Orleanseconomy, yieldmore than22 (22.2) times the investment, as well as 250 jobs for eachmillion dollars invested. Public investments to attract high-paying automobilemanufacturing jobs also yield a positive benefit to the local economy – but, whenanalyzed in the same way, utility investment in low-income energy efficiency yieldsmore than two-and-a-half (2.6) times the economic benefit and more than triple (3.1times) the number of jobs. Even a combination of one-third long-term energy efficiencyinvestment and two-thirds short-term emergency assistance would be a cost-effective wayto break the back of poverty in a way that benefits the entire economy – 13 percent moreeconomically productive than public investment to attract auto manufacturing andgenerating 46 percent more jobs.New Orleans MultipliersFor every $1,000,000 in investmentIncreased economic outputJobsENERGY EFFICIENCYNet effect of investment$1,838,04819Net effect of bill savings$4,472,90185Effect of environmental improvement$1,816,30715Effect of non-energy benefits$14,083,501130TOTAL$22,210,758250ASSISTANCENet effect of investment$1,940,26937Effect of non-energy benefits$1,712,39716TOTAL$3,652,66753MANUFACTURING PLANTNet effect of investment$11,950,45294Effect of environmental detriment-$3,319,161-13TOTAL$8,631,29181176See Section II and Appendix B for methodology.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds57MISSISSIPPIoThe problem of energy affordability in all of the Entergy service territories,including Mississippi, runs deep. In a number of measures of poverty, residents ofMississippi remain at or near the economic bottom compared to the rest of theUS.Measures of Poverty in Mississippi and the United StatesU.S.MississippiMedian Household Income 2006 $ 48,451 $ 34,473Income rank among 50 states plus DC51% people living below 100% FPL in 200613.3%21.1%Children under 18 below 100% FPL18.3%30%Children under 18 below 150% FPL29.0%44%% People living below 200% FPL in 200636%49%Elderly Poor Despite Social Security8.7%15.8%Working parents without health insurance (2003)24.8%27.5%Children under 17 without health insurance (2005)11%14%Food Insecurity (Hunger) 2004-200611.30%18.1%% Chidren in low-income families with no telephone (2005)9%18%Unemployment levels (Oct. 2007)4.4%6.1%% over 25 with high school diploma84.1%77.9%Low-income renters with housing costs over 50% of household income38.3%38.5%% of people living below EPI Basic Family BudgetNA30%% Eligible receiving LIHEAP heating assistance23%19.1%Leveraged energy funds per person5.97$0.13$% leveraged by state vs US2%Sources: US Census, factfinder.census.gov/home, http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/saipe/index.html; LIHEAP Issue Brief http://www.neada.org/; BLS, LAU Current Unemployment Rates for States; US Dept. of Labor, www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm, 11/28/2007; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Economic Policy Institute, www.eoi.org/content.cfm/datazone_dzlocalAs for state public policy supporting anti-poverty programs, a survey shows that:(cid:120)90 percent of Mississippians feel it is important to fund programs to help poorfamilies pay their utility bills,(cid:120)82 percent say government should help, and(cid:120)75 percent feel that a state program should include contributions from business aswell as residential customers.177177 Flake-Wilkerson Marketing Insights, “Low Income Energy Study” (Entergy Corp., based on Oct. 2002survey); Entergy Corp., “Mississippi Answers” (drawn from Flake-Wilkerson survey).Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds58What can be done?Mississippi has no state-mandated low-income efficiency program, nor does it have astatewide low-income energy bill discount program.178 Both should be considered, withreasonable funding and eligibility to the same standard as is used for LIHEAP. Areasonable low-income energy efficiency program need not cost average residentialcustomers more than a dollar a month.179Similarly, Mississippi should consider reasonable and permanent funding for its non-energy anti-poverty programs such as pre-school education and Individual DevelopmentAccounts. The latter are especially important to hurricane recovery efforts.The Economic Benefits of Low-income Efficiency and AssistanceInvestments180Investments in low-income efficiency, when multiplied through the Mississippi economy,yieldmore than19 (19.1) times the investment, as well as 213 jobs for each milliondollars invested. Public investments to attract high-paying manufacturing jobs also yielda positive benefit to the local economy – but, when analyzed in the same way, utilityinvestment in low-income energy efficiency yieldsalmost triple(2.8 times) the economicbenefit and almost quadruple (3.5 times) the number of jobs. Even a combination of one-third long-term energy efficiency investment and two-thirds short-term emergencyassistance would be a cost-effective way to break the back of poverty in a way thatbenefits the entire economy – 21 percent more economically productive than publicinvestment to attract manufacturing and generating 62 percent more jobs.178 Mississippi Power Co. does have a tariffed discount which could serve as a model for a statewidemandated program if it were made more generous and eligibility were broader. This Mississipi Powerdiscount is 55 cents per day (about14 percent of the average bill) and limited to recipients of SupplementalSecurity Income or Aid to Families with Dependent Children (or, presumably, its successor, TransitionalAssistance for Needy Families). Mississippi Power tariff, Schedule 37, Residential Base Charge WaiverRider Schedule SSI-1. Value of discount computed from tariff and Energy Information Administration datafor average bill, atwww.eia.gov/cneaf/est/esr_sum.html at Table 6.179 J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor, “The Economics of Low-Income Electricity Efficiency Investment”(Entergy Corp., 2001); J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor, “Protecting Low-Income Consumers: Building onTwo Decades of Lessons Learned” (Entergy Corp, 2000, updated 2001); J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor,“Poverty in the Entergy Service Territories” (Entergy Corp., 2002).180See Section II and Appendix B for methodology.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds59Mississippi MultipliersFor every $1,000,000 in investmentIncreased economic outputJobsENERGY EFFICIENCYNet effect of investment$844,3008Net effect of bill savings$4,290,54476Effect of environmental improvement$1,526,11113Effect of non-energy benefits$12,439,817116TOTAL$19,100,772213ASSISTANCENet effect of investment$1,544,42028Effect of non-energy benefits$1,551,68914TOTAL$3,096,10943MANUFACTURING PLANTNet effect of investment$9,810,01173Effect of environmental detriment-$2,896,173-12TOTAL$6,913,83761Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds60TEXAS (Beaumont)Even in the Beaumont-Port Arthur area of Texas, the problem of energy affordabilityruns deep.Measures of Poverty in Beaumont, Texas and the United StatesU.S.Texas(Beaumont)Median Household Income 2006 $ 48,451 $ 40,072Income rank among 50 states plus DC32 (1)% people living below 100% FPL in 200613.3%18.5%Children under 18 below 100% FPL18.3%31%Children under 18 below 150% FPL29.0%37% (1)% People living below 200% FPL in 200636%43% (1)Elderly Poor Despite Social Security8.7%11.0%Working parents without health insurance (2003)24.8%34.7% (1)Children under 17 without health insurance (2005)11%20% (1)Food Insecurity (Hunger) 2004-200611.30%15.9% (1)% Chidren in low-income families with no telephone (2005)9%11% (1)Unemployment levels (Oct. 2007)4.4%4.9%% over 25 with high school diploma84.1%82.4%Low-income renters with housing costs over 50% of household income38.3%38.1%% of people living below EPI Basic Family BudgetNA35%% Eligible receiving LIHEAP heating assistance23%1.9% (1)Leveraged energy funds per person5.97$0.17$% leveraged by state vs US3%(1) State of TexasSources: US Census, factfinder.census.gov/home, http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/saipe/index.html; LIHEAP Issue Brief http://www.neada.org/; BLS, LAU Current Unemployment Rates for States; US Dept. of Labor, www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm, 11/28/2007; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Economic Policy Institute, www.eoi.org/content.cfm/datazone_dzlocalAs for state public policy supporting anti-poverty programs, a survey shows that:(cid:120)89 percent of Texans feel it is important to fund programs to help poor familiespay their utility bills,(cid:120)75 percent say government should help, and(cid:120)74 percent feel that a state program should include contributions from business aswell as residential customers.181181 Flake-Wilkerson Marketing Insights, “Low Income Energy Study” (Entergy Corp., based on Oct. 2002survey); Entergy Corp., “Arkansas Answers” (drawn from Flake-Wilkerson survey).Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds61What more can be done?Texas has already adopted a low-income efficiency program, as described above. As thisprogram develops further, consideration should be given to ramping it up to a fuller scale.Texas also has a low-income discount program with automatic enrollment fromdesignated income-screened programs. The size of the discount has varied from year toyear; currently it is a 12 percent discount only in four summer months. In addition,Entergy has a low-income discount tariff under which it waives the customer charge,which amounts to an additional average discount of 2.7 per cent; a ten percent discount ispending in a rate case, to offset a proposed rate increase.182 Consideration should begiven to a larger discount and to automatic enrollment for all discounts.Similarly, Texas should consider reasonable and permanent funding for its non-energyanti-poverty programs such as pre-school education and Individual DevelopmentAccounts. The latter are especially important to hurricane recovery efforts.The Economic Benefits of Low-income Efficiency and AssistanceInvestments183Investments in low-income efficiency, when multiplied through the Beaumont-PortArthur area economy, yieldmore than33(33.5) times the investment, as well as 284 jobsfor each million dollars invested. Public investments to attract high-paying manufacturingjobs also yield a positive benefit to the local economy – but, when analyzed in the sameway, utility investment in low-income energy efficiency yieldsmore than triple(3.2times) the economic benefit and more than triple (3.1 times) the number of jobs. Even acombination of one-third long-term energy efficiency investment and two-thirds short-term emergency assistance would be a cost-effective way to break the back of poverty ina way that benefits the entire economy – 30 percent more economically productive thanpublic investment to attract manufacturing and generating 48 percent more jobs.182 Personal communication, R. Chapman, Texas Legal Services Center (Dec. 2007). Value of customercharge waiver computed from FERC Form 1 average bill data.183See Section II and Appendix B for methodology.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds62Beaumont, Texas area MultipliersFor every $1,000,000 in investmentIncreased economic outputJobsENERGY EFFICIENCYNet effect of investment$6,108,14252Net effect of bill savings$7,588,60786Effect of environmental improvement$2,004,47514Effect of non-energy benefits$17,830,893133TOTAL$33,532,117284ASSISTANCENet effect of investment$1,891,10950Effect of non-energy benefits$2,131,60316TOTAL$4,022,71266MANUFACTURING PLANTNet effect of investment$14,253,191106Effect of environmental detriment-$3,645,585-13TOTAL$10,607,60693Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds63APPENDIX B: METHODOLOGYQUANTIFYING THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF LOW-INCOME ENERGYEFFICIENCYOur analysis is based on the Regional Input-Output Modeling System (RIMS II) industrymultiplier tables maintained by the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of EconomicAnalysis (BEA).184 The latest regional data are based on industry linkages in 2005, andare thus affected in unknown ways by Hurricane Katrina.185 However, the impacts of thehurricane were focused on New Orleans and parts of Louisiana and Mississippi; theresults of the analysis are reasonably stable across states and, in fact, show less economicimpacts of investments in the Entergy region than the nation at large.We conservatively report this impact net of the impact of transferring the funds necessaryfor the investments from taxpayers or ratepayers. The funds so transferred wouldthemselves have had a multiplier effect in the absence of the transfer, so we subtract thatbaseline impact in order to compute the net impact of transferring the funds to supportenergy efficiency, energy assistance, or a manufacturing plant. In the case ofmanufacturing plants, we track only the public investment and assume, based on historicexperience, that it leverages out-of-region investment of 4.3 times the publicinvestment.186We computed the impacts of investments in efficiency improvements with a weightedaverage 19.25-year life.187 We assumed a 20-year life for the manufacturing plant. Sincewe assumed a 20-year life for the plant, we also assumed that the employment impactwould last 20 years. However, a 20-year plant life is considerably less certain than thelifetime of a permanently installed efficiency improvement. Some manufacturing plantsare not economically stable – a typical product model may only be built for five years,after which a plant must be temporarily closed for re-tooling or even permanentlyclosed.188It is also noteworthy that low-income households pump proportionately more money intothe economy than average households189 – they cannot afford to save – so the multiplier184http://www.bea.gov/regional/rims/index.cfm.185See e.g.,www.bea.gov/katrina/index2.htm.186Computed from Hill & Brahmst, “The Auto Industry Moving South: An Examination of Trends” (Centerfor Automotive Research, 2003).187 Efficiency measure lives range from 7 years for water heater wraps to 30 for attic insulation.188 Hill & Brahmst, “The Auto Industry Moving South: An Examination of Trends” at 13 (Center forAutomotive Research, 2003). The economics of existing plants do not necessarily favor keeping them open.E.g., E. Eckholm, “Blue-Collar Jobs Disappear, Taking Families’ Way of Life Along”New York Times(Jan. 16, 2008).189 P. R. Tcherneva, “Missouri’s Cost of Unemployment” (University of Missouri – Kansas CityDepartment of Economics, Center for Full Employment and Price Stability, Special Report 0502, 2002).Also see BLS consumer expenditure data: in 2006, for example, the average household, with after-taxOppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds64effect of lowering their bills with energy efficiency measures is particularly strong. Thisis partially offset by reductions in utility revenue (the utility multiplier is lower than thatof low-income households), though this effect is attenuated somewhat by utility benefitsthat lower utility costs: lower arrears,190 lower collection costs,191 and lowerdisconnection-reconnection costs.192Environmental impactsIn determining the economic value of energy efficiency, we have taken into account theeconomic impact of avoiding property and health damage from environmental pollutants,mostly carbon dioxide. Conversely, we account for the environmental costs ofmanufacturing.193The damage caused by increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide is their tendency toincrease the overall temperature of the planet. Adverse impacts in the US include:(cid:120)more intense storms (Boston, for example, has been subjected to two “100-yearstorms” and three “fifty-year storms” in the last decade; Hurricanes Rita andKatrina may also be examples of this phenomenon);(cid:120)coastal flooding;(cid:120)urban heat-related mortality (including deteriorated air quality,i.e., smog);(cid:120)increases in allergic reactions;(cid:120)reduced winter recreation;(cid:120)increased competition for fresh water;(cid:120)increased damage to forests from fires, pests, and disease; and(cid:120)drought in the Southwest.194income of $58,101, spent 83% of income; above $70,000, averaging income of $119,298, spent only 60%,but the group between $30,000 and $40,000, averaging income of $33,916, spent 104% of income – atlower incomes, expenditures above income are even larger. Income before taxes: Average annualexpenditures and characteristics, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2006ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/ce/standard/2006/income.txt190 Based on research by National Grid USA (formerly Massachusetts Electric) and used in its energyefficiency cost-effectiveness analysis.191 Based on Entergy costs of calls and disconnect notices. Customer service time based on research set outin J. Oppenheim & T. MacGregor, “All-Ratepayers Test of Cost-Effectiveness of DCEO Low-IncomeUtility Efficiency Program,” in DC PSC Formal Case No. 945 (August 2004),http://www.democracyandregulation.com/columns.cfm?subject_id=16&subject_name=Cost%2Deffectiveness (hereinafter “DCEO Cost-Effectiveness Report); cost thereof based thereon and service territoryaverage income compared to national average income.census.gov/hhes/www/income/income06/statemhi2.html.192 Based on Entergy costs of disconnection and reconnection. Incidence of low-income disconnection andreconnection based on research set out in DCEO Cost-Effectiveness Report.193 For purposes of calculating environmental impacts, we looked specifically at automobile manufacturing.www.energystar.gov/ia/business/industry/Auto_EPI.xls. There may be additional societal costs of amanufacturing plant, such as the need to build infrastructure and the increase in traffic congestion;however, these are not quantified.194The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations (UN),Fourth Assessment Report,www.ipcc.ch; Nicholas Stern, The Economics of Climate Change: TheStern Review (Cambridge University Press, 2007), http://www.hm-Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds65It is often pointed out in response that an extended US growing season would offset theadverse economic effects of such impacts.195 However, this short-run benefit will beoffset by high temperatures and water shortages in the longer run.196 “High temperatureepisodes can reduce yields by up to half.”197 Another pressure on food supplies, and thusprices, is the sharply increased use of corn to produce the gasoline substitute ethanol – thefraction of the corn crop devoted to ethanol has gone from three percent to 20 percent infive years while the price of corn has about doubled in two.198In the rest of the world, particularly the less developed world, impacts also include:(cid:120)drought,(cid:120)heat-related mortality,(cid:120)increased cardio-respiratory disease caused by increased ground level ozone,(cid:120)additional stress on water resources (including hydroelectricity) from bothreduced snow melt and pollution such as algae and salinization,(cid:120)flash floods,(cid:120)decreased ability to grow food (including aquaculture),(cid:120)stress on fisheries,(cid:120)flooding (to the point of overwhelming some small South Pacific islands) anderosion,(cid:120)increased insect-borne disease, and(cid:120)pressure to migrate.199These impacts translate to national security concerns in the US as pressure mounts for aidand conflict resolution.200 Changes in ocean temperatures and melting ice sheets alsotreasury.gov.uk./independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/stern_review_report.cfm(October 2006). Supporting documents are located at http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk./independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/stern_review_supporting_documents.cfm (Stern Review).195E.g., R. Mendelsohn and J. Neumann, eds., The Impact of Climate Change on the United StatesEconomy (Cambridge Univ. Press 1999). “The research provides repeated support of the importance ofadaptation. Adaptation mitigates the impacts of environmental damage in every sector studied. Theresearch also demonstrates that modest warming will entail benefits for the United States in some sectors.The U.S. agriculture, forestry, and outdoor recreation sectors are all projected to benefit from aslightlywarmer, wetter, CO2-enriched world. These benefits outweigh the damages measured in the coastal, water,and energy sectors, suggestingsmall amounts of warming could be good for the U.S. economy. Theresearch, however, does not measure all relevant nonmarket [costs and] benefits such as health effects,species loss, and human amenity impacts, so nothing definitive can be said about the net effect of climatechange on the quality of life in the United States. The research also does not extend beyond U.S. borders.”(Introduction, p. 15, emphasis added)196 Stern Review at 71, 80.197 Stern Review at 80.198 E.g., Anon., “Very, Very Big Corn,” Wall St. Journal at A8 (Jan. 27, 2007).199 IPCC; Stern Review.200 A. Revkin (New York Times), “UN: Poor nations unprepared for global warming,” Boston Globe at A5(April 1, 2007) (referring to IPCC Fourth Assessment, vol II); B. Bender, “Bill ties climate to nationalsecurity/Seeks assessments by CIA, Pentagon,” Boston Globe at A1 (April 9, 2007).Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds66have an impact on US Navy operations.201 Also of concern is that economic pressures onother nations reduce their ability to export to, or import from, the US.We did not attempt to evaluate the cost of this damage from carbon dioxide. As aconservative proxy for this health, property, and economic damage, we use the cost ofcontrol, which is approximated by the projected market price for an allowance for carbondioxide emission.202 The cost of damage is very much greater than the cost of control, 203so our use of the cost of control is very conservative. Avoiding these costs is a benefit ofenergy efficiency; incurring them is a cost of manufacturing.Environmental costs of manufacturing include, for example, jobs lost due to damagedmachines and hours of employment lost due to damaged health. Of course these costs canbe mitigated and this additional cost creates jobs and economic output, albeit at lowereconomic multipliers than a manufacturing plant. However, such environmentalmitigation also requires investment. Our analysis compares $1 million of publicinvestment in low-income energy efficiency against the same investment to attract amanufacturing plant. The latter requires investment in environmental mitigation, whichmust be netted against the manufacturing investment in order to maintain the comparisonat $1 million each. Since the multipliers for environmental mitigation are less than thosefor manufacturing, the net economic impact of an efficiency investment remain superiorto manufacturing with environmental mitigation. As an additional conservatism, we donot account for this in our results.We also accounted for criteria air pollutants – oxides of sulphur (SOx)204 and nitrogen(NOx),205 as well as mercury (Hg)206 – but not carbon monoxide (CO), fine particulates201 B. Bender, “Bill ties climate to national security/Seeks assessments by CIA, Pentagon,” Boston Globe atA1 (April 9, 2007); S. Hargreaves, “Ex-CIA chief spooked by fossil fuels/R. James Woolsey says theswitch to renewables must be made to head off global warming and terrorism,” CNN. Com (March 8,2007).202 See cbo.gov/ftpdoc.cfm?index=2876&type=0&sequence=3. J. K Boyce et al., “Cap and Rebate: How toCurb Global Warming while Protecting the Incomes of American Families” Table 7 (University ofMassachusetts at Amherst Political Economy Research Institute, Oct. 2007).. This exercise assumed aconsensus estimate of carbon price of $200 per ton (about $55 per ton of CO2) The price of CO2in Europehas already reached an average of $22.89 in 2007. Computed from L. Abboud, “Hot Carbon MarketSignals New Interest,”Wall St. Journal at A6 (Jan. 18, 2007).Pollution emission rates from Entergy, from eia.doe.gov/cneaf/pubs_html/rea/tablefe2.htm, and fromnetl.doe.gov/energy-analyses/technology.html.203 IPCC; Stern Review.204 ccfe.com/education_ccfe/SO2_Background_Drivers_Pricing_PDF.pdf, http://ferc.gov/market-oversight/othr-mkts/emiss-allow/2007/archives/09-2007-othr-emns-no-so-pr.pdf.205 netl.doe.gov/publications/proceedings/02/scr-sncr/farrellsummary.pdf,eia.doe.gov/cneaf/pubs_html/rea/tablefe2.htm.206 "Mercury Trading Takes Form", Evolution Markets, October 2006,http://new.evomarkets.com/,cleanerandgreener.org/resources/emission_reductions.htm.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds67or volatile organic compounds (VOCs),207 which have no consensus value. We alsoaccounted for water savings.208Other benefits209We also computed other benefits that multiply through the economy,210 including(conservatively estimated):211* Societal and taxpayer benefits, such as avoided fire damage,212 reduced costs ofhomeless shelters,213 the cost of crime avoided by reducing poverty, and the reducedcosts of healthcare as a result of reducing poverty.214* Savings to program participants, including bill savings,215 the reduced costs of moving(due to termination for non-payment) and resulting lost education,216 the value of207 cleanerandgreener.org/resources/emission_reductions.htm, mainegreenpower.org/calculator/residential-1.shtml.208 "The California Low Income Public Purpose Test, TecMRKT Works (April 2001);mainegreenpower.org/calculator/residential-1.shtml (households); R. Hornsbyetal, Synapse EnergyEconomics Inc., "Avoided Energy Supply Costs in New England", 2007 Final Report (Aug 10, 2007) at pg7-18, Exhibit 7-14; P. Freedman and J. Wolfe, LimnoTech, "Thermal Electric Power Plant Water Uses"(October 2, 2007) (plants).209 Multiplier analysis was also conducted for assistance programs. The benefits described here were alsocomputed for assistance programs, except refrigerator purchase deferral and comfort.210 We accounted for the different multiplier effects of benefits to utilities, low-income customers, andsociety generally.211 Discounted at 20-year (approximate life of measure) Treasury bond rate, minus inflation.http://online.wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3020-treasury.html?mod=2_0031.212 http://firechief.com/health_safety/firefighter-injuries-cost032505/,"The Total Cost of Fire in the UnitedStates", J. Hall, Jr., Fire Analysis & Research Division, National Fire Protection Association, Dec. 2006"Trends & Patterns of U.S. Fire Losses", Marty Ahrens, Fire Analysis & Research Division, National FireProtection Association, Sept. 2007http://www.nfpa.org/newsReleaseDetails.asp?categoryID=488&itemID=37090. Avoided costs are dividedbetween savings to participants and savings to taxpayers and society at large from a reduction in fire losses.Avoided costs include deaths and injuries as well as property damage and firefighting costs.213 Cost of homelessness derived from Millennial Housing Commission. "Meeting Our Nation's HousingChallenges. Washington", D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2002,http://www.planning.org/policyguides/homelessness.htm and U.S. Census Bureau,www.census.gov;percentage of homeless derived from the foregoing applied to population of disconnected customers(developed in DCEO Cost-effectiveness Report.See alsoplanning.org/policyguides/homelessness.htm.214 Avoided costs derived from J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor, “The Economics of Poverty” (EntergyCorp., 2006), democracyandregulation.com/detail.cfm?artid=99&row=0. One-third of factor applied toestimated participant savings to conservatively account for failure to eradicate poverty (as assumed inreferenced study).215 Laitner, Eldridge, Elliott, "The Economic Benefits of an Energy Efficiency and Onsite RenewableEnergy Strategy to Meet Growing Electricity Needs in Texas" (ACEEE Report Number E076, Sept., 2007);L. Berry, M. Brown, L. Kinney, "Progress Report of the National Weatherization Assistance Program,"(DOE Metaevaluation, Sept 1997) at pg. ii;http://www.waptac.org/si.asp?id=1097.Also see DCEO Cost-effectiveness Report.216 Based on time to move, computed at minimum wage. "The California Low Income Public PurposeTest,” TecMRKT Works (April 2001).Also see DCEO Cost-effectiveness Report.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds68deferring the purchase of a refrigerator,217 the value of not losing utility service, the valueof increased comfort,218 the value of spending less time on the phone with the utility,219the reduced costs of poor health,220 and the increase in property value.221Many benefits are not quantified here, including increased property tax payments, energyprice reductions caused by lower demand, or energy rate reductions caused by retainedsales.222217 Efficiency programs typically replace inefficient refrigerators where it is cost-effective to do so. Basedon program experience, assumed five-year deferral was discounted at 20-year (life of measure) Treasurybond rate, minus inflation.http://online.wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3020-treasury.html?mod=2_0031.Penetration rate and cost based on program experience. DCEO Cost-effectiveness Report.218 These subjective estimates are based on survey research. DCEO Cost-effectiveness Report.219 Telephone time at federal minimum wage., based on "The California Low Income Public Purpose Test,”TecMRKT Works (April 2001) and research set out in DCEO Cost-effectiveness Report.220 Cost of ill health measured as carbon monoxide deaths and cost of healthcare caused by carbonmonoxide injury. Vicusi,et.al., “Pricing Environmental Health Risks: survey assessments of risk-risk andrisk-dollar trade offs for chronic bronchitis”, 21Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 32-51(issue 1, 1991); Goldstein, "The California Low Income Public Purpose Test,” (TecMRKT Works, April2001), at Tab-9GNEBsParticH&S-CO, cell P52(illness cost default set as $50,000 adjusted for inflation);L. Skumatz & Gardner, PA Government Services, “State of Wisconsin Department of Administration,Division of Energy Low Income Public Benefits Evaluation” (Nov 9, 2005) at pp.10-22, Tables 1-2 and 4-1 (number and cost of CO illness of crises); Berry, Brown & Kinney, “Progress Report of the NationalWeatherization Assistance Program” (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL/CON-450, September 1997)at pg.44.221 Research set out in DCEO Cost-effectiveness Report.222See generally DCEO Cost-effectiveness Report.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds69APPENDIX C:Successful Low-Income ProgramsThere are two broad categories of energy assistance programs for utility low-incomecustomers that can enhance and complement the federally funded LIHEAP and DOEWAP: affordability and efficiency and weatherization.223oAffordability programs provide direct assistance in paying energy bills, throughfuel funds, a fixed or percentage discount on the utility bill, a percentage ofincome payment plan (PIPP), and/or a credit re-establishment incentive program.All of these affordability programs are funded by all non-low-income ratepayersbased on the premise that keeping paying customers on the system provides aneconomic benefit to the utility and all of its ratepayers.224 Contributing to theefficacy of these types of programs are consumer protections such as winter orsummer moratoria; installment billing; choice of payment date; protection againstdisconnects for infants, elderly or disabled; and reduced or waived late ordisconnect fees. These programs, combined with consumer education onbudgeting and efficient energy use, can act as short-term solutions to energyunaffordability.oEfficiency and weatherization programs to reduce energy usage and lower billsare long-term solutions to unaffordable energy bills. Combined with educationprograms which teach customers about prudent energy use and budgeting, such asthose already provided by Entergy, these programs actually reduce the amount ofenergy used by consumers and can lower energy bills substantially.Affordability ProgramsDiscountsWhile there are many variations in discount design among states and utilities, there arethree basic discount program types:(cid:120)Fixed percent of bill;(cid:120)Fixed dollar discounts; and(cid:120)Discounts that vary with usage223 Ratepayers contribute about two-thirds of all state and local funding for low-income energy assistanceprograms. LIHEAP Clearinghouse, State Leveraging FY 2006 (May 2007),http://liheap.ncat.org/tables/FY2006/06stlvtb.htm. The balance is funded by charitable and taxpayercontributions.224 The economics are described in detail in Section II of this paper, above.Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds70Each state or utility has assessed the needs and circumstances of its customers, thenumber of affected customers, the effect on other customers, and the political will toprovide relief before designing its chosen program.225The fixed percent of bill design has resulted in discounts ranging from seven percent to40 percent, depending on the state and utility company. Some states waive the tax onenergy,226 which is by nature a fixed percent of the bill, and in a small number of states,the discounts apply only during the costliest part of the year.227 Discounts that varyseasonally recognize the sharp differences in consumption that exist in certain climatesand are thus designed to contribute to simplifying low-income budgeting.A fixed dollar discount, for example waiving the customer charge for low-incomecustomers, can be enough of a discount to make energy bills affordable in some cases. Inothers, a fixed credit amount is determined in a rate case to be sufficient to a state'spurposes.228Fixed percentage and fixed dollar discounts are simple for the utility to administer and forcustomers to understand. Some states have chosen to vary the discount with a customer’susage, such as a lifeline rate for a fixed block of kWh determined to be essential to life,then the regular residential rate for all other uses, or higher rates for succeeding blocks –an inverted block rate. A discount that varies with usage is preferred by some because itencourages conservation.Different discount strategies tend to target different sectors of the low-income population.A fixed dollar discount, and discounts that vary directly with usage, tend to benefit mostthose electricity customers with the lowest incomes, to the extent that electricityconsumption is correlated with income.229 Fixed percentage discounts better serve low-income households with high consumption that is not within their control, such as thosewith electric heat, cooling needs, large families, or exceptionally wasteful appliances.There is probably little difference among all these discount strategies in the predictabilityof their financial impact on all other ratepayers since the number of low-incomecustomers and their consumption tend to be similarly stable. The least predictable225 J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor, “Low-Income Consumer Utility Issues: A National Perspective” at 11(2000).226 Arkansas waives the sales tax on the first 500 kWh of electricity usage per month for customers withannual income less than $12,000. LIHEAP Clearinghouse,www.arkansas.gov/dfa/income_tax/tax_general_excise_questions.html, www.entergy-arkansas.com/your_home/special_needs.aspx, www.liheap.ncat.org/Supplements/2006/arstfd.htm.227 J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor, “Low-Income Consumer Utility Issues: A National Perspective” at 11(2000).228 Note that, where customer charges are very low, waiver of the customer charge would have little benefit,and a larger fixed dollar amount is therefore more appropriate. J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor, “Low-Income Consumer Utility Issues: A National Perspective” at 11 (2000).229 The correlation between income and gas usage is smaller than that for electricity usage because manylow-income families live in substandard, poorly weatherized homes that require excessive consumption ofgas to heat. J. Oppenheim and T. MacGregor, “Low-Income Consumer Utility Issues: A NationalPerspective” at 13 (2000).Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds71variable is usually the penetration of the rate;i.e., how successful outreach efforts are.This is often correlated with the penetration of a state's federally-funded Low IncomeHome Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) (shown for heating assistance for theEntergy states in the Table at the end of the second section), the penetration of otherbenefit programs, the fraction of low-income consumers in master-metered buildings orgroup living situations (group homes, nursing homes, and the like), the nature of the low-income population, the nature and extent of outreach efforts, and the presence ofautomatic sign-up mechanisms.Low-income discounts are usually recovered from other ratepayers on a per-kWh basis,such as through a system benefits fund, or embedded in non-low-income customer rates.Generally, rates are established on the basis of a predicted cost based on historicalexperience and other known parameters, and are reviewed periodically as part of generalrate cases. Costs are usually recovered from all non-low-income customers, on theprinciple that all customers benefit from the consequent cost reductions and that allcustomers share the social obligation to assist low-income families.Percentage of Income Payment Plans (PIPPThis type of program directly takes into account the energy burden on individual low-income households and structures a payment program such that the burden faced by thesecustomers will be no higher than a predetermined percentage of their income. Theaverage electric energy burden on a non-low-income Entergy customer is 3.8 percent;230the burden on a low-income customer can be up to three times as high or more. A PIPPcould bring that burden down to the same or nearly the same as that for an averageresidential customer.PIPP designs vary by state and utility. To simplify administration, some use incomebrackets to determine the percentage; others use income brackets and levels ofconsumption. In some cases, the fraction of income paid depends on the level of poverty.PIPPs are often coupled with a credit re-establishment incentive program (describedbelow), with a fractional forgiveness of amounts due for each month of successfulparticipation in the PIPP.PIPP programs are based on the premise that, although low-income customers cannotafford to pay the entire energy bill, they can pay (and are willing to pay) somethingtoward their bill each month. The amount may be negotiated and based on what thecustomer agrees is affordable, based on an analysis of income and expenses. PIPPsobviously require an additional commitment of administrative resources, but by allowinglow-income customers to do what they want to do -- pay their bills -- PIPPs havesucceeded in reducing arrearages and consequent collection and termination costs.231230 Weighted average computed from Entergy FERC Forms 1 and US Census. Energy burden is the fractionof income required to pay for home energy (heat and electricity). Electricity burden is the fraction requiredfor electricity alone.231 Columbia Gas in Ohio, for example, found reduced arrearages and improved payments. West PennPower also found reduced arrearages and confirmed that participants paid more than their variable costs sothey contributed to fixed costs. Pennsylvania Power & Light found improvements in payment frequencyOppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds72Credit Re-establishment Incentive Programs232An important component of many discount and PIPP programs is an incentive programthat offers low-income customers in arrears an opportunity to earn their way back to goodcredit through good payment behavior. Low-income customers are usually in arrearsbecause they cannot afford to pay their bills -- not because they do not want to pay.233Early studies showed that half of all customers fell behind on utility bills because theydid not have enough money to pay them, due to such causes as unemployment andmedical bills.234 Since then, utility bills have risen sharply and thus become much lessaffordable for low-income customers. If the bills are made more affordable, experiencedemonstrates that low-income customers in general will pay more of their bill. Asarrearages grow, low-income customers are apt to become fearful of ever getting outfrom under their debt. Thus, increasing the late payment penalty, disconnecting thecustomer and then charging a reconnection fee, or setting a payment plan in place thatrequires more than the customer is able to pay, are unlikely to generate much incrementalrevenue from the low-income customer with a high arrearage. In fact, that customer islikely to become discouraged and to stop making any payments at all.Credit re-establishment programs are directed to the relatively small fraction of low-income customers who have resources to pay (and are willing to pay) their bill eachmonth, but are unable to manage their arrears. A payment amount may be negotiated andbased on what the customer agrees is affordable, based on an analysis of income andexpenses. The customer must sign an agreement with the utility, or with a communityaction agency acting on the utility’s behalf, in which, in exchange for a reduction overtime in the arrearage amount owed to the utility, the customer agrees to make regular,timely payments; participate in budget counseling if deemed appropriate and helpful; takeadvantage of all monetary assistance available, such as LIHEAP, discounts, and otherassistance; and participate in a utility’s weatherization and efficiency program to thedegree that customer is eligible.“Successful arrears forgiveness programs are designed to target customers who, with theright training, assistance and support, can move from needing some sort of assistance toself-sufficiency. These programs are comprehensive and cost-effective, offering budgetcounseling, payment plans, arrears forgiveness, energy efficiency and links to otherfinancial grants and assistance. Customers benefit from a reduction in their electric and/orgas bill arrearage, with the ultimate goal of independently managing bill payments moreeffectively.”235and decreased account management costs. All studies found no increase in consumption. J. Oppenheim andT. MacGregor, “Low-Income Consumer Utility Issues: A National Perspective” at 15 (2000).232 Sometimes known as “arrearage management” or “arrearage forgiveness” programs.233E.g., Ron Grosse, "Win-Win Alternatives to Credit & Collections", Wisconsin Public Service Co., 1997.234 Matousek and Radue, "Wisconsin Public Services Corp. Lifestyles II" at 25 (Matousek & Assocs.1993).235 Penni McLean-Conner, vice president, customer care, NSTAR (the electric and gas utility serving alarge portion of Metropolitan Boston), “The New Age of Arrears Forgiveness Programs, Electric Light &Power (Sept. 2006).Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds73Credit re-establishment programs have been used by Brooklyn Union Gas (nowKeySpan, a subsidiary of National Grid) and all of the investor-owned utilities inMassachusetts as an entrée to providing direct services, or as a referral source forcustomers to other service providers, to help customers become energy self-sufficient.Services include utility discount programs; energy audits, weatherization and energyefficiency services; heating system repairs or replacement; refrigerator/freezerreplacement; assistance from FEMA; income tax preparation in order to claim the EITC;legal services; budget and credit counseling; Medicaid and state health insurance; GEDpreparation, ESL courses and adult education; employment training and referrals; childcare; Food Stamps and other food resources; transportation; homelessness prevention;and others.236 A preliminary independent evaluation of the Massachusetts program hasshown that the number of customers in arrears dropped by 13 percent in one year, thenumber who had skipped a meal to pay a utility bill had been cut in half, and clientsreported increases in their food, nutrition and housing security, as well as in energy self-sufficiency.237Energy Efficiency ProgramsComprehensive energy efficiency, education, and weatherization services lower customerbills, enabling low-income customers to better manage their usage and thus empoweringthem to take better control of their finances. The low-income population faces uniquebarriers to participation in energy efficiency programs, so a program must be designed tominimize barriers and facilitate participation. It is equally important to standardize a setof measures and auditing tools for the chosen implementers in order to reduce trainingneeds and speed installation time.In the early years of utility companies' providing energy efficiency services to low-income customers, the "neighborhood blitz" approach was widely used. Savings frommeasures installed in the blitz were often small and difficult to evaluate; there was noeducation provided; and no follow-up was conducted.For the past decade or more, the trend has been to provide customized audits inpreviously scheduled visits, along with education, refrigerator metering (to determineenergy use for possible replacement), and installation of all measures that can be installedat the time, with appointments scheduled for any further work necessary (such as ceiling,wall or floor insulation). A blower door test is conducted to determine the need forinsulation and/or air sealing. Energy efficient lighting, including fluorescent torchieres,high efficiency water heaters, refrigerators and air conditioners can provide extremelycost-effective savings while lowering utility bills.236 Jim Yardley, “The Gas Company as Social Worker; Brooklyn Utility Tries Softer Approach to PursueUnpaid Bills,” NY Times (Jan. 17, 1999); Residential Energy Assistance Challenge (REACH) OptionProgram: Annual Program Progress Report, 2005-2008 Massachusetts LASER Project (Oct. 2007).237 “8th Quarterly Evaluation Report for the REACh (LASER) Project, University of MassachusettsDonahue Institute (Oct. 2007).Oppenheim & MacGregor, Economics of Utility System Benefit Funds74To maximize efficiencies and minimize costs of service delivery, the efficiency programshould be "piggy-backed" onto a previously existing network of experiencedadministrators. Indeed, an important feature of most successful programs is to coordinate(piggyback) among all resources available to a particular home, including electric and gasutilities, the U.S. Department of Energy Weatherization Assistance Program (DOEWAP), and state funds. A comprehensive program would provide an audit, a detailedappliance survey with usage data, detailed energy education about energy use, andopportunities for saving energy tailored to each household's practices. Because low-income customers have no spare resources for efficiency improvements, all cost-effectiveefficiency measures should be installed at no direct cost to the low-income buildingoccupant, including attic and floor insulation, pipe and duct insulation, lighting, newrefrigerators, air conditioners, water heaters, programmable thermostats, and low-flowshowerheads and faucet aerators. Carbon monoxide detectors should be installed forhealth and safety purposes.Electric utility companies usually do not offer measures that are mainly designed to saveresources other than electricity. However, where natural gas companies also implementenergy efficiency programs and pay for gas-saving measures, electric companies shouldprovide electricity-saving measures in gas-heated homes, such as energy efficientlightbulbs and appliances. By coordinating both the electric and natural gas utilityprograms with the DOE WAP program, even more cost and delivery efficiencies can berealized.