About a month ago I wrote that a big announcement was coming on the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency. Well, it happened as predicted on July 31. More than 50 leading organizations joined together to develop the plan, which aims to help states and utilities overcome barriers that limit investment in energy efficiency. The action plan was developed with assistance from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and with the participation of electric and gas utilities, utility regulators, state agencies, large energy users, consumer advocates, energy service providers, and environmental and energy efficiency organizations. On the day of the announcement, 72 organizations in 33 states also announced commitments to increase their investments in energy efficiency. The plan builds upon best practices from successful energy efficiency programs already operating in many areas. It recommends recognizing energy efficiency as a high-priority energy resource; making a strong, long-term commitment to implementing cost-effective energy efficiency as a resource; broadly communicating the benefits of and opportunities for energy efficiency; promoting sufficient, timely and stable program funding to deliver energy efficiency where cost-effective; and modifying policies and rate making practices to encourage utilities to invest in energy efficiency. The action plan and other related documents on the EPA website.