Residential Energy Conservation Outreach Activities--A New Federal Approach Needed

Gao ID: EMD-81-8 February 11, 1981

GAO evaluated the residential energy conservation outreach activities of the Department of Energy (DOE) by examining the contribution that outreach can make in achieving energy conservation, the effectiveness of alternative outreach techniques, and the current program direction and management of DOE.

Consumers need to be aware of their energy conservation opportunities before they can act. If consumers do not have comprehensive information and are not effectively provided such information, the extent to which they can or will realize available energy conservation opportunities will be limited. Combining individualized information with personalized delivery of that information has been shown to result in the greatest amount of voluntary energy conservation by each individual. Conducting outreach activities in this manner can make a fundamental contribution in any approach to achieve greater residential energy conservation. DOE does not have an effective outreach strategy and does not evaluate its outreach activities to determine their impact on consumer conservation. It cannot demonstrate how its outreach programs complement the outreach programs being provided by others. The four major DOE outreach efforts have not been integrated into a cohesive program strategy. DOE has devoted inadequate resources to evaluation. In limited cases where evaluations had been performed, either the procedures were questionable or the results were not applied. The Energy Extension Service (EES) does not effectively coordinate government outreach activities and is carrying out programs similar to ones previously funded.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: James Duffus Iii Team: General Accounting Office: Energy and Minerals Division Phone: (202) 512-7756


The Justia Government Accountability Office site republishes public reports retrieved from the U.S. GAO These reports should not be considered official, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Justia.