The easiest, cheapest way to save energy is to use less of it. Floridians get that, already.

We buy florescent light bulbs in increasing numbers, keep our air conditioning at 78 degrees or higher, install insulation and insulated windows and doors, replace aging appliances with energy-efficient models and use solar power when practical to heat our water.

So if Floridians get the importance of reducing our energy footprint, why doesn't the staff at the Public Service Commission?

Every five years the PSC sets new energy conservation goals for the state -- not just to save costs but, equally important, to reduce the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. No state's economy is more threatened by rising sea levels than the Sunshine State with its heavy reliance on tourism and coastal development.

To their credit, both Gov. Charlie Crist and the Legislature have emphasized improving the state's energy efficiency through legislation that created the Florida Energy and Climate Commission, among other things, in 2008.

Yet recent PSC staff recommendations for future energy efficiency and switching to more renewable fuels are disappointingly uninspired.

It's one more indication why the embattled PSC -- after a series of scandals involving too cozy relationships by staff and commissioners with the utilities they regulate -- continues to be out of touch with Floridians.

Regressive recommendation

The staff basically recommended that the status quo be maintained. The ``new'' goal is to reduce energy use in Florida by 1.2 percent over the next 10 years, about what it is now.

If the PSC adopts these recommendations at its hearing Tuesday it will put Florida well behind 25 other states that are far more aggressively pursuing energy efficiency goals. Some states seek to reduce fossil-fuel use by 20 percent by 2020, spurred on by the federal government recently investing some of the stimulus money in developing practical renewable energy sources.

Florida should get on board with meaningful energy-efficiency programs to get its fair share of the stimulus dollars. The state needs more incentives such as tax rebates for property owners who markedly improve home and business energy efficiency through conservation measures and using renewable energy sources.

The PSC should send its staff back to the drafting table to come up with more ambitious, albeit attainable, energy conservation goals. One of the staff's rationals for not recommending more conservation was that higher standards could raise utility consumers' costs by prompting energy producers to increase rates, presumably to maintain profits as consumption drops.

Lowering demand

But the plain truth is, cutting how much electricity you use reduces your monthly power bill. Energy efficiency also lowers the overall demand for electricity, lessening the need for the construction of new power plants, which saves consumers' money.

No matter how you look at it, more energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources need to play a bigger role in the lives of Floridians. The PSC should be in the vanguard on this, not settling for the status quo.

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