More money is available to spend in-state on goods and services.
In comparison, energy bills are 15 percent higher than state tax collections of the three states combined. The size of each state's total energy bill suggests that Mid-Atlantic policymakers may also want to explore ways to use energy more efficiently. The high efficiency scenario assumes that cost-effective energy efficiency improvements are made in buildings, industries, and vehicles on a wide scale. Businesses and homeowners will make these cost-effective investments as they improve their facilities and homes. The needed investment is less than 1 percent of Gross State Product over the period.