AUGUSTA - Efficiency Maine’s Board of Trustees recently voted unanimously to adopt a new three-year plan and budget, which the agency said will save consumers more than $870 million on energy bills over the lifetime of the efficiency measures. The plan now goes to the Public Utilities Commission for a formal review, which is expected to take at least four months, before it can be implemented.

“Today’s vote was a very important step forward for further lowering energy costs for Maine homes and businesses,” said Emmie Theberge, Clean Energy Policy advocate for the Natural Resources Council of Maine, in a news release. “While the plan clearly could be stronger and achieve greater savings, we believe this is a solid plan with major benefits that deserves to move forward.”

The final plan includes less funding for home weatherization and efficiency than the originally-drafted plan , at the insistence of Governor Paul LePage’s Energy Chief Patrick Woodcock.

Efficiency Maine manages initiatives that help homes, businesses, and other energy consumers reduce electricity, natural gas, and heating oil costs through investments in energy-efficiency equipment and improvements, from efficient lighting to increased insulation. Utility customers save approximately $5 for every dollar invested this way.

In 2014, the Maine Legislature unanimously passed a law intended to allow Efficiency Maine to spend up to $60 million/year if doing so would result in consumer savings. But last winter, the Public Utilities Commission sought to limit Efficiency Maine’s investments to about $22 million/year, taking advantage of a typo: the missing word, “and,” in the law.

Earlier this year, the Legislature voted unanimously to restore the missing word. The new plan, adopted by Efficiency Maine’s board, includes roughly $40 million in electric ratepayer investment.

The plan, developed over several months by Efficiency Maine’s staff, was done so with input from the board, stakeholders, and public comments on a draft of the plan released in September.

In October, at the urging of Woodcock, the board voted to change the draft plan by reducing funding for the Home Energy Savings Program by $7.5 million over the three-year period. Those funds would have helped 10,000 homeowners reduce heating costs through air sealing, insulation, heat pumps, and other high-efficiency equipment.

The day of the vote, the board briefly reconsidered that issue but did not reverse the cuts.

This session, the Legislature will consider changes in how funds that come to Maine from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative are used for home efficiency and other programs.

In addition to savings on electricity bills, the plan adopted is also expected to save on natural gas and heating oil bills for Maine homeowners and businesses through increased energy efficiency. But, with more investment, Efficiency Maine identified a potential to cost-effectively save twice as much on natural gas.

The plan includes significant investment in various programs to help low-income consumers cut power and heating bills.

Efficiency Maine is overseen directly by a nine-person Board of Trustees composed of seven public members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate, along with the heads of the Governor’s Energy Office and the Maine State Housing Authority. Currently the board has two vacancies, which the LePage Administration has not filled. Adoption of each three-year plan requires a two-thirds vote of the board. The plan year begins July 1, so companies need consistency and assurance so they can staff and train workers at appropriate levels.

”There’s a lot of talk about lowering energy costs in Maine; today’s vote represents an action to help Maine people and businesses do so, and in the most cost-effective way possible,” said Theberge.