* Introduction *

Current Energy Situation

In 1991 the Mayor and Council of the City of Tucson and the Pima County Board of Supervisors directed the Metropolitan Energy Commission (MEC) to initiate a strategic planning process examining potential long-term changes in metropolitan Tucson's energy situation. This process was used to evaluate and recommend strategies to address energy issues.

Since that time, the Commission has completed a Metropolitan Tucson Energy Assessment which includes data and information needed to understand the community's energy situation. Public Technology, Inc. was retained to perform a nationwide survey of local and state energy planning programs and to analyze major national and international influences on the local energy situation. A series of focus groups was held to further assess local energy needs and perspectives. Graduate students from the University of Arizona provided information from local interviews, and the MEC was a participant (with the City of Tucson) for a telephone survey on citizen energy views. In addition, MEC members researched and studied these data and discussed relevant issues with experts and practitioners to effectively develop this Community Strategic Energy Plan.

Appointed by the Mayor and Council and the Board of Supervisors, MEC is comprised of citizens serving without pay whose function is to advise these governing bodies regarding community issues and concerns related to energy. This Strategic Energy Plan is a community plan that is designed as an ongoing, future-oriented, action-focused process to mobilize and empower the community to deal effectively with its energy situation.

No plan is effective unless it is implemented. An essential part of this plan is found in the last section, Role of Community Catalysts: List of Possible Actions. Implementation is based on the idea that a community plan must be implemented by members of the community. This is not a simple task. The Metropolitan Energy Commission can assist in bringing community groups together for implementation. But in the long run, the plan will only be as good as the effort put in by the community as a whole.

Other communities have made progress in similar efforts toward energy efficiency and use of renewable sources. Examples include: Austin, Texas (Green Builder Program); Portland, Oregon (Community Energy Plan); and Davis, California (Village Homes). Their experiences indicate what can be done.

• Energy is basic to our way of life. It provides us a high standard of living with comfort, mobility and convenience while reducing the amount of human labor. It runs the machines we use to sustain and enhance our modern lifestyle, but energy use also has its costs and problems.
  
  

• Significant improvements have been made during the last decade in energy efficiency and conservation. However, many current energy consumption practices are causing problems that have environmental, economic and social costs and make the community vulnerable to economic disruption.
  
  

• Our view of energy is undergoing change. We are moving from a world of large supplies of commonly accepted energy sources to a new world of using alternative sources. We are beginning to use energy more wisely in relation to economic and environmental considerations and to accept alternatives to familiar sources.
  
  

• This transition period will not necessarily be smooth. The purpose of this plan is to serve as a road map to navigate these changing energy times. The Community Strategic Energy Plan outlines key issues related to energy use in the metropolitan area and identifies examples of possible strategies that can impact those issues in a positive way.