CHARLOTTE - If we are to successfully begin to address climate change, we must have a fundamentally new approach to energy efficiency. I believe that we must go to work now to address this growing ecological problem. Energy-efficiency improvements can be done today as politicians debate how best to regulate carbon emissions in our country.

It is widely recognized that productivity gains in the use of electricity are the key to beginning to reduce our greenhouse gas footprint as we develop and install new technologies to reduce emissions.

And this is exactly what Duke Energy's Save-a-Watt model now being considered in the Carolinas will do. More importantly, it will do it at a much lower cost than renewable energy, which environmental groups in North Carolina support.

The plan compensates us only for actual reductions in power use that are verified by an independent third party -- and at a lower rate than we would receive if we had to build a power plant to meet demand. Our hope is that under the Save-a-Watt model, our earnings will be about the same as if we just built plants to meet the increasing demands for electricity.

Given the risks we are taking, we may not meet the goal. But the important thing is that customers who participate in our array of new offerings will see their power bills go down, more than enough to offset any increase in rates.

This is a fundamental shift from the old "cost-plus" model where utilities take on little risk and are paid whether or not energy demand is actually reduced. This approach has failed to produce meaningful advances in energy efficiency.

I am surprised that in the face of this evidence that some in the Carolinas cling to a failed, business-as-usual approach. This is alarming given their apparent concern about global warming.

We did not develop our Save-a-Watt plan in a vacuum. We hosted dozens of customer focus groups as we developed the plan, and incorporated that feedback in our model. We heard our customers when they told us that they will eagerly participate in Save-a-Watt programs -- as long as they do not have to sacrifice their comfort and convenience.

We are adding 40,000 to 60,000 new customers annually in the Carolinas. Homes are trending larger, and our appetite for power-hungry electronics continues to grow. By measuring actual electricity saved, we will be able to count on energy efficiency as a valuable "fifth fuel" in our long-term planning.

Those who believe renewable energy alone can meet our power demand fail to acknowledge that it comes at a premium price of 30 to 50 percent more than traditional power plants. Although we believe renewable clearly must be part of the solution to addressing climate change, this higher cost is unacceptable to the vast majority of our Carolina customers.

The cleanest and cheapest kilowatt hour is the one we do not have to produce, and our Save-a-watt model will allow us to rapidly respond to customer feedback and provide them the programs they want -- because if our programs do not deliver results, we do not get paid.

This new energy-efficiency paradigm will help our growing population use electricity more wisely, at a lower cost and with less environmental impact. To achieve this goal, we must think differently about energy efficiency.

We have much work to do -- let's get going.

(Jim Rogers is chairman, president and CEO of Duke Energy. He co-chairs the National Action Plan on Energy Efficiency and the Alliance to Save Energy and is chairman of the Institute for Electric Efficiency in Washington.)

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