How important is improved energy efficiency to Ohio? Consider the price of oil, hovering around $100 per barrel. Paying more than $3 per gallon at the gas pump would be ruinous today if not for Americans squeezing twice as much work out of a barrel of oil as they did three decades ago. The same thinking has applied to the use of electricity, and now Ohioans and others must make further advances in light of climate change and the premium on global competitiveness.

Ted Strickland recognizes the priority of energy efficiency. The governor included in his energy plan last summer measures to improve the state's performance, and the Ohio Senate agreed. Unfortunately, the proposal isn't as ambitious or helpful as it sounds. The governor focuses narrowly on future growth of electricity, still leaving the state with a weak energy efficiency program.

Better, as Speaker Jon Husted argues, to pursue more efficient overall use of electricity, in other words, current and future load. The speaker hasn't fallen for a rosy scenario. His efficiency benchmarks are realistic, calling for a 0.3 percent reduction in 2009, reaching 1 percent in 2014 and 2 percent annually from 2019 to 2025. All told, the reduction, or efficiency factor, would be an accumulated 22 percent.

Why take such a course? Virtually all indications are that Ohio and the country will experience a substantial increase in demand for electricity during the next 25 years. Feeding that appetite will strain capacity — and thus the wisdom of an aggressive renewable and advanced energy portfolio. The least expensive way to enhance capacity is improved efficiency.

Janine Migden-Ostrander, the Ohio Consumers' Counsel, explains that constructing a new nuclear power plant or ''clean'' coal-fired plant would cost roughly $4,000 for every kilowatt hour of capacity. The price of energy efficiency? An estimated $400 for every kilowatt hour saved.

A recent study by the Ohio Environmental Council noted that efficiency technologies can be implemented for 2.25 cents per kilowatt hour. That compares favorably with new wind power (4.9 cents per kilowatt hour) and biomass (7.9 cents).

No surprise that Speaker Husted, many economists, environmental groups and a significant share of businesses see the value in energy efficiency. Still, many large manufacturers haven't been persuaded. They contend that such an efficiency push would be ''anti-economic development.'' The ultimate timidity of the governor's appears driven by their concern. The view is shortsighted, neglectful of what looms, the promise of increased demand and tighter environmental controls, whether through technology or a carbon tax of some kind.

Migden-Ostrander rightly describes energy efficiency as the ''first line of defense'' against future cost increases. That hardly sounds anti-development. In time, energy efficiency will spur economic growth. Do the job right, and Ohio would gain a reputation as more forward-thinking (not exactly the view now). Here is a chance to reshape the state economy in a productive way. Follow the cue of Speaker Husted, and Ohio would seize the opportunity.