NCPA, along with Palo Alto, Santa Clara, and the city of Gridley are proud supporters of the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency. The Action Plan was released July 31, 2006 at the Summer National Association of Regulated Utility Commissioners (NARUC) held in San Francisco.

The Action Plan’s recommendations call for electric and gas utilities to do the following:

• Recognize energy efficiency as a high-priority energy resource,
• Make a strong, long-term commitment to the implementation of cost-effective energy efficiency as a resource,
• Broadly communicate the benefits of, and opportunities for, energy efficiency,
• Promote sufficient, timely, and stable program funding to deliver energy efficiency where cost-effective, Modify policies to align utility incentives with the delivery of cost-effective energy efficiency, and modify ratemaking practices to promote energy efficiency investments.

At the same time, California and its energy leaders, including NCPA and its members, have pledged support for the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency via a Memorandum of Understanding (California MOU), signed concurrently with the national plan.  The California MOU includes the following commitments:

• Providing resources to promote recommendations from the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency at speaking engagements and other educational opportunities, including participation in “buddy system” outreach efforts in which the signatories engage fellow political leaders, regulators, utilities and other stakeholders to inform them about the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency's best practice findings and recommendations.  
• As appropriate for each signatory, model California’s best practices and policies identified in the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency, including:
  • designation of energy efficiency as a high priority resource option;
  • adoption of targets for energy efficiency; pursuit of energy efficiency resources under a long-term resource planning and procurement framework;
  • institution of a regulatory framework that encourages utility investment in energy efficiency; and
  • sharing California's successes with others interested in energy efficiency and learning from others' successes in the planning and delivery of cost-effective energy efficiency programs.