Nov. 4--The state's electric and natural gas utilities have submitted a plan to utility regulators that calls for spending more than $130 million on energy efficiency programs next year, a move that proponents of the proposal say would result in $580 million in energy savings.

Officials at the state Department of Public Utility Control held their first public hearing on the energy-efficiency plan last week, said Jeff Gaudiosi, chairman of the Energy Conservation Management Board.

The board approved the energy efficiency plan, which was developed by the utilities, at its September meeting, Gaudiosi said.

"This is the first time that the electric and the natural gas utilities have filed jointly," he said.

"They used to file separate plans and before 2007, there wasn't a plan filed at all for natural gas, although the individual gas companies did programs on their own."

Gaudiosi said he is hoping that the DPUC will rule on the energy efficiency plan before the end of December.

Phil Dukes, a DPUC spokesman, was not available for comment Tuesday regarding a timetable for the ruling.

Funding for energy-efficiency programs in the state has traditionally come from a single source, the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund, which relies on surcharges to ratepayers' bills.

The 2010 plan, for the first time, includes funding from other sources like federal stimulus money and the proceeds of the quarterly Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative auctions, Gaudiosi said.

"More than half of what is being proposed for 2010 (in energy-efficiency expenditures) is coming from the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund, though," he said.

The efficiency programs are expected to save 3.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity and 38 million CCFs of natural gas, Gaudiosi said.

A CCF is a measure that refers to 100 cubic feet of natural gas.

"We're working together to help Connecticut residents become more energy efficient and, in turn, this will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve the reliability of our energy systems and preserve natural resources," he said.

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